This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken & written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, & school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. OR Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology &, in addition, successfully complete a re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA, or a CPA accredited doctoral program; &, The specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript &/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above & who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. & Internships: (a) Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed & that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR (b) New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology & the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern; OR (c) VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre-1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR (d) Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) OR (e) Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 1978 from a regionally accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program. Licensure: Hold a full, current, & unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care 4 only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation & meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. GS-12 (Developmental Level) Experience. At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of & ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. Ability to design & implement effective treatment strategies. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing & implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties). Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship & research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, & collaboration. GS-13 (Full Performance, Level) Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, & ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations. Ability to provide professional advice & consultation in areas related to professional psychology & behavioral health. Knowledge of clinical research literature. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 11 to 13. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require travel OR driving between offices, hospital, warehouses, community settings, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. The incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. The incumbent must possess a current Driver's License and drive a government vehicle in carrying out professional duties when deemed necessary.
VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf Duties & skills needed to be successful in this position include, but are not limited to: Exercises the full extent of their delineated psychologist privileges to provides psychological services to Veterans, their families, & the interdisciplinary team regarding evaluation (including psychological testing where indicated), identification, & treatment of psycho-social concerns & psychiatric diagnoses in the RRTP setting. Serves as a member of the multidisciplinary treatment team. In addition, the clinician will provide direct care, assessment, & treatment where indicated & as such functions as a lead treatment team member. Diagnose mental disorders, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities & provide adjunctive interventions for maintenance of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, & group psychotherapies. The incumbent may be involved limitedly in program evaluation &/or research functions. Have a generic understanding of social dynamics & use a wide range of treatment modalities, including crisis intervention, individual case work, group work, patient education, confrontation, supportive therapy, family therapy, discharge planning, & knowledge of aftercare treatment resources. The treatment modality shall be evidence-based & consistent with the needs, goals, resident preferences & objectives of each case. Obtains a thorough working knowledge of aftercare rehabilitation community treatment resources & makes appropriate referrals. The incumbent makes every effort to link patients to the appropriate resource & to implement the aftercare plan. The incumbent serves as a liaison between the residential setting & other VA & community resources. The incumbent advises significant others about community resources available to them as well as providing information about VA programs & resources. Accountable for timely documentation, proper clinical file recording, case work services rendered, exploration surveys with beneficiaries & the provision of service summaries. Conduct biopsychosocial intake assessments to determine needs of Veterans & family members. Active participant in the treatment planning process with other RRTP disciplines (e.g., medicine, pharmacy, Chaplaincy, Peer Support, vocational rehabilitation, recreational rehabilitation, nursing) & will develop individual treatment plans with the resident. Participate in discharge planning with other disciplines & will be responsible for ensuring that discharge plans are executed in a manner that is timely & appropriate. Provide individual, family, & group counseling as appropriate. Provide consultation/education to Veterans & families on community resources & VA benefits. Act as a consultant to other team/staff members. Act as liaison between VA & community resources, to include marketing & public relation duties as needed. Provide case management to Veterans & families, as needed, throughout the continuum of care. Provide measurement-based assessment & care using VA accepted procedures & instruments. Provide a full range of therapy services within commonly accepted standards of clinical practice which includes case work, individual, family & group counseling, discharge planning, case management & other services as appropriate. Provide wellness/prevention education & facilitate patient/family support groups as appropriate. Coordinate treatment & communicate with the care lines to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans. Participate in committee assignments, as deemed necessary by the service manager. Maintain data, documentation, & statistical compilations to comply with National Directive, T JC, CARF, VA, & medical center policy & procedures. Assist patients & their significant others with coping & dealing with the loss & grief experiences in disability, terminal illness, & death. Document interventions & activities in patients' clinical record utilizing CPRS or other record keeping system used by the VA & ensure appropriate hand-off when transferring of patient care. Incumbent may be required to drive Veterans in government vehicles to community-based activities. Incumbent may also utilize government vehicles for additional training purposes. Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact michael.warner3@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 53347-A, 53348-A, 53349-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized