Staff Psychologist- Primary Care- Mental Health Integration
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Application
Details
Posted: 11-Sep-24
Location: Huntington, West Virginia, West Virginia
Salary: Open
Categories:
Psychology
Internal Number: 808400100
The incumbent serves as Staff Psychologist, assigned to Psychology Service, with full Clinical Privileges at the Huntington VA Medical Center including associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and has a full, current, unrestricted licensure to practice as a Psychologist at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. This position is located at the Charleston, WV CBOC (Community Based Outpatient Clinic). 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. Education (1) A doctoral degree in psychology from graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association, the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System, or the Canadian Psychological Association at time of program completion. Specialty area of degree must be consistent with assignment in which applicant is to be employed. The term "specialty area" refers to specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body, not to specific job duties that require special skills. APA accredits doctoral programs in 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. No job assignments in VHA require the skills of a school psychologist. An applicant with a degree in specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology).OR (2) Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in have successfully completed a specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (a) Re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and,(b) specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with assignment in which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, including completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification.] [OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND (4) Internships(a) Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program, accredited by APA or CPA at time of program completion and is consistent with assignment in which the applicant is to be employed. OR(b) New VHA psychology internship programs in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable to fulfill internship requirement, provided such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time the individual was an intern; OR(c) VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre 1979) are considered to fulfill the internship requirement OR(d) Whom completed internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time of program completion may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area consistent with assignment in which they are to be employed. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) [OR (e) Those who have 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 equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from doctoral program verifying the equivalent of a one-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. 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. 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. Grade Determinations: Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level) (a) Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 1. Knowledge and ability to apply professional psychological treatments to a 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 Preferred Experience: At least 2 years of prior Mental Health service and PC/MHI or related experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS 13. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary. No special physical demands required to perform work. ["The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Huntington, W. Va. is a fully accredited, acute medical and surgical care facility and our Charleston VA outpatient clinic provides primary care and specialty health services, including mental health care, laboratory services, vision care, and more. Duties include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of integrated psychological care to Veterans within a primary care setting, including integrated screening, psycho-diagnostic assessment, brief individual psychotherapy, group psychoeducation or psychotherapy, collaborative care management, evidence-based integrated psychotherapies, behavioral medicine, motivational interviewing, and other services in person and through tele-health technology when required. Produces timely, appropriate documentation of care in accordance with agency policies. Provides evidence-based psychotherapies tailored for use in PC-MHI setting and supports others in training and implementation of these therapies .Provides clinical support to medical services, such as through behavioral medicine interventions, psychoeducational offerings, and evaluations for medical procedures. Consults with health care providers of all disciplines regarding care for patients with mild-to moderate mental health disorders. Collaborates closely daily with primary care staff, mental health staff, social workers, and health care providers of other disciplines in support of patient care. Provides clinical support to medical services for MH crisis needs and responds to consult requests in a timely manner. Performs assessment of and provides disposition to Veteran who present to the clinic in crisis situations. Completes administrative activities in support of patient care, such as treatment planning and documentation of care using Behavioral Health Lab software. Work Schedule: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be Authorized for highly qualified applicants. Note: Definition of Highly Qualified Candidates: Candidates who possess unique skills and competencies needed to perform critical mission-essential functions. Per OPM.gov, to be Highly Qualified, the candidates are considered by the Human Resources Office and the subject matter expert (selecting official) as being highly proficient in all the requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position almost immediately or with a minimum amount of training and/or orientation. (Highly Qualified is not defined by years of experience alone). Refer to VA Handbook 5007, Part VI, Ch. 3 EDRP Authorized: Eligible. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of your start date. 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. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact visn5edrpcoordinators@va.gov , 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) 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: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000 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.