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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• 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 38 U.S.C. 7405(c)(2)(B) not to exceed 2 years from date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed]
• [Copy of Licensed Required to be submitted with application if applicable] 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: [Transcripts showing date of conferral required to be submitted with application] 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
• 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 and meet the criteria)
• 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
• Assignment
• Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders - conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments - treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities - provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders - and may conduct research
• They may be assigned to any program area
• 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
• 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

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Mental Health Behavioral Sciences (MHBS) Staff Psychologist is a member of the Bridge the Gap Team within the Mental Health service line of Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System (NAVAHCS) - located at the Prescott VA facility
• The Bridge the Gap Team consists of a Program Manager - Psychiatrist - Psychologist - and Social Worker that operate in collaboration with the Primary Care Mental Health Integrated (PCMHI) Team - service line programs - and other departments at the facility
• Major duties include - but are not limited to: Coordinates and triages disposition of referrals to MHBS Service Line (e.g. - Primary Care - Specialty Care - other VAs - and self-referrals): referrals from other MHBS services (e.g. - Domiciliary - Homeless Programs and IOP)
• as well as referrals within MH disciplines (e.g. - Psychiatry - Therapy - Neuropsychology)
• Provides expert clinical services and consultation in addition to Crisis Assessment and Intervention
• comprehensive Assessments and Evidence-Based Interventions (Individual - Group and Family Therapy)
• consultation to other Mental Health and Medical Providers throughout the Facility and its satellite CBOC's/PTOC's
• Coordinates outpatient follow-up for patients discharging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and/or residential treatment (i.e. - the Domiciliary)
• Tracks patients to ensure access to appropriate and timely mental health care and providing enhanced care coordination to Veterans
• Provides outreach to Veterans flagged as high risk for suicide and not engaged in MH services
• This involves working collaboratively with the Suicide Prevention Program
• Develops and maintains a system to ensure follow-up with patients who miss initial consult appointments
• Triages and manages of electronic consults received by MHBS to include the timely assignment - scheduling - and closure of the consults
• Provides same day and short-term gap coverage in the event a Provider is out of the office or position is vacant to ensure that same access is an option provided to each Veteran
• Develops policies and procedures related to Access to Care - including evaluating processes and procedures to ensure timely and effective referral - disposition - and follow-up services
• Functions independently to maximize Access to Care and identify possible barriers to care
• Develops a data monitoring system to measure the efficacy of the program to include collecting - analyzing - and reporting program data to management - and as requested preparing reports for the facility - VISN - and VACO
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized to highly qualified candidates EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive
• Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• 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)
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• 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: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Bargaining Unit: Yes