Provides psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders for Primary Care patients, consistent with Primary Care-Mental Health Integration at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. 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: Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. 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. 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 completed a re-specialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral degree; and b) the specialty in which were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are applying for, OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship: You 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 to 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 the 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). NOTE: 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 in 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: Candidates 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. 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). Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. ["Work Schedule: Intermittent - NOTE: As a Fee Basis Employee; the Fee Basis system of VA compensation pays based on the specific task or service provided; it is expected that the employee will perform services one or two days per week at a varying rate. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Duties: Functions independently as a licensed practitioner. Assumes complete professional responsibility for their clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation Provides psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders for KCVA Primary Care patients (i.e., consistent with Primary Care-Mental Health Integration [PC-MHI] model). Will assess the Veterans suicide and/or homicide-thought(s), plan(s), or action(s)-for each and every encounter and telephone call. The completion of this risk assessment will be documented in each encounter note. Provides short term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual and limited dyadic psychotherapy services, using a variety of modalities including in-person and telemental healthcare. Provides consultation to professional staff within KCVA and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for served Veterans. Provides comprehensive professional care documentation in the patient record system, adhering with timeliness standards for quality care. Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including proper patient check out procedures. Completes all required clinical reminders and screening tools/processes that are due at the time of the encounter or are otherwise clinically indicated based on preliminary examination and that are appropriate given licensure as a Psychologist. Responds to all patient and provider alerts, requests, or notifications within one business day of issuance. Provides clinical referrals to specialty mental health or other specialty medical services, Provides continuity of services until care has been assumed by specialty mental health service, other medical service, or until handoff with the ED or emergency services. Coordinates fee basis service activities with PC-MHI Program Manager, Mental Health Service Line leadership, and Primary Care/PACT team leadership-as well as with PC-MHI colleagues-to ensure Veteran safety and to ensure receipt of excellent quality and continuity of care across KCVA service systems."]
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.