Staff Psychologist

Summary

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.

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Duties

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The Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, Mental Health Service, is currently recruiting for (1) Staff Psychologist to help care for our Veterans at the Shawnee Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

VA Careers - Psychologist:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Diagnoses mental disorders.
• Treats mental disorders with a wide range of patients using a variety of modalities, including: individual, family and group psychotherapy, triage/crisis management, and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions.
• Conducts psychological assessments.
• Conducts initial intakes/biopsychosocial assessments and treatment planning in accordance with Joint Commission/VA requirements and service/clinic-level SOP.
• Practices measurement-based care using the Collect, Share, Act model, in accordance with Joint Commission/VA requirements and service/clinic-level SOP.
• Consults with OKC VA Health Care System staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• Ensures the physical and information security of testing materials and PII/PHI.
• Consults with referring provider/team and other OKC VA HCS psychologists, as necessary, on a wide variety of patient care issues. - Participates in regularly scheduled Program/Clinic team meeting(s).
• Evaluates and makes disposition of patients to treatment programs in the OKC VA Health Care System, as well as referral to community programs and vocational placement. Serves as a consultant to other staff in evaluating and assisting Veterans with complex vocational problems. Places consults for Veterans when clinically indicated.
• Provides independent psychological services at all levels of complexity and consults with peers and supervisors as appropriate.
• Ensures coding is in accordance with the OMHSP MH Coding Guidelines.
• Ensures secure storage and proper retention/disposal of psychological assessment data in accordance with current VA Records Control Schedule.
• Places RTCs in accordance with VHA directives and scheduling guidelines to ensure accurate patient appointment scheduling.
• Obtains PMDB training in accordance with workplace setting per the annual Workplace Behavioral Risk Assessment.
• Assists with other activities as assigned by OKC VA Health Care System Management. Academic/Teaching/Training:
• Provides training and/or clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training (unlicensed graduate psychologists, psychology trainees, psychology technicians, psychiatry residents, and medical students).
• Involved in Psychology Training Program(s) and Training Committee(s)
• Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staffs of units to which assigned.
• Serves as a consultant to other OKC VA Health Care System staff and trainees and assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients.
• Involved in program evaluation and research activities, as supported by the service.
• Participates in active program monitors and outcome measurements within programs assigned using a data-driven quality assurance process.

Work Schedule : Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Telework : Situational (ad-hoc) per agency policy.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : PD99256, PD99255, and PD99253

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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 :

• English Proficiency
  • Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f).
• Citizenship
  • Must be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. ? 7407(a).
• Basic Education- To qualify based on Basic education you must 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, and school psychology.

OR

• 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

• A doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

Internships

• 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.

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 1 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 1 year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program

NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

Licensure:

• Must 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 GS12 grade 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.

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).

GS 12 Staff Psychologist Knowledge Skills and Abilities- In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
• Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
• Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
• Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
• 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.

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 grade level.

GS 13 Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's)- In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of and ability to apply advanced professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
• Knowledge of clinical research literature and fluency in scientific information discovery.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply structured scientific paradigms to research involving existing protocols and established scientific methods, including knowledge of research design and analysis as applied to their area of expertise, that has resulted in recognition at the local and regional level and that is developing into national recognition (e.g., speaking at national conferences and/or publishing in nationally-distributed scientific journals).
• Ability to perform essential research tasks of scholarship and research execution, including research participant relations and management, research documentation, data acquisition and maintenance, human subjects protection, budget oversight, supervision of project staff, and collaboration.
• Ability to formulate results within a scientific framework and organize scientific reporting.
• Knowledge of methods and ability to increase the basic research skills of others via research mentoring.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS 11 to GS 13.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.