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.

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:

• Citizenship
• Citizen of the United States
• Licensure
• Applicants 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 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
• Education
• Applicant 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
• The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicants are to be employed
• For the purpose of meeting this requirement - the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills
• 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 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
• OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• AND Internships
• Applicants must 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 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
• Grade Determinations: GS-11 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements listed above
• GS-12 Experience: Applicants must have at least 1 year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11)
• In addition - the candidate must demonstrate 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 Experience: Applicants must have 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: Knowledge of - and ability to apply - 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
• Assignment
• This is the full performance level for staff psychologists
• At this level - psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services - consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate
• They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting - such as inpatient or outpatient medicine - primary care - surgery - mental health - neurology - rehabilitation medicine - geriatrics - Compensation and Pension - Vet Centers - and the VHA National Center for Organization Development
• Psychologists diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities - and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Among the modalities provided are individual - family - and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions
• Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues
• Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation - teaching - training - and research activities
• 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.

Duties

• VA Careers - Psychologist: Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Staff Psychologists are assigned to any VHA program and setting - including inpatient - residential - or outpatient medicine - surgery - mental health - neurology - rehabilitation medicine - geriatrics - Vet Centers - and the VHA National Center for Organizational Development
• Staff Psychologists diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Among the modalities provided are individual - couples - family - and group psychotherapies - and other interventions such as environmental and behavioral interventions
• This posting is for 2 vacancies
• One position is part of our Behavioral Medicine group
• Responsibilities will include individual and group interventions related to weight management for Veterans in the MOVE Program - as well as other behavioral medicine services consistent with the clinical need and the selectee's expertise
• For this position - preferred characteristics include experience and expertise in behavioral medicine intervention - particularly those related to weight management
• The second position will be part of the La Jolla outpatient clinic
• Clinical responsibilities will include provision of group and individual interventions for PTSD - depression - anxiety - and other conditions
• For this position - preferred characteristics include experience and expertise in psychotherapy for one or more of these conditions - as well as expertise in quantitative analysis of operational data to inform operational decision-making
• Duties may include - but are not limited to: Provides psychodiagnostic assessment to diagnose mental disorders - perform risk assessment and crisis intervention - administer psychological and/or neuropsychological assessment - and provide a full range of evidence-based psychological interventions consistent with the psychologist's competencies and needs of the MHCL - including individual - family - and group psychotherapy
• Develops - implements - and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for assigned patients - including prompt completion of clinical reminders and other required documentation
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team - Impact Unit - and MHCL - established by the VASDHS - the Associate Chief of Staff of the Mental Health Care Line - and the Chief of the Psychology Service
• Collaborate with Section Chiefs - team coordinator - and/or MHCL leadership to identify key operational questions
• Create and execute plan to address operational questions by collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures - including timeliness standards for documentation - proper patient check out procedures (e.g. - entering diagnostic and procedure codes) - and return to clinic orders
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Impact Unit - Psychology Service - Mental Health Care Line - and the facility
• Provides consultation on empirically validated treatments as requested
• Consults with psychiatrists - social workers - nurses - internists and other physicians - mental health pharmacists - as well as psychology staff and fellows
• Provides workshops and seminars on empirically-validated psychological treatments and other areas of expertise - open to professionals in psychiatry - social work - nursing - internal medicine - other medical specialties - and pharmacy
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 0800-1630 (tour is flexible between timeframe) 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 View email address on us.fitly.work - 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
• 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: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.