Staff Psychologist

Qualifications 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 Education: 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 The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed OR Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, 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 and 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 and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature AND Internship: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed OR 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 and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern OR 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 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 Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 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, and 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 GS-12 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 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 English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j To qualify for this position, you must meet the Basic Requirements as well as any additional grade-level qualification requirements Grandfathering Provision: A Psychologist employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (2/7/2018) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-0180-13) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements Grade Determinations: GS-11 Staff Psychologist (Entry Level): Experience: None beyond the basic requirements GS-12 Staff Psychologist (Developmental Level): Experience At least 1 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 In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1 Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations 2 Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies 3 Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures 4 Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties) 5 Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, and collaboration (staff psychologists with specified research job duties) GS-13 Staff Psychologist (Full Performance Level): Experience At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1 Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations 2 Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health 3 Knowledge of clinical research literature Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. ]]>