You will serve as a licensed-eligible provider with a doctorate in clinical or counseling psychology in the Birmingham VA Medical Center's Mental Health Service Line. You are to provide professional services to the veteran population seeking MHSL services. You will provide a full range of psycho-diagnostic assessment, therapeutic and psycho-educational interventions as well as consultative services within their scope of practice. 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) 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 (2) 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: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND 2 (4) Internships (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 (d) 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) [OR (e) 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. 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. d. Board Certification and Loss of Credential e. Grandfathering Provision. [All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education f. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. g. 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. 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: Incumbent fully meets the KSAs for the GS 13 level: Experience. At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the 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. (c) 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 https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is 13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["The incumbent is a fully licensed and independent provider with a doctorate in clinical or counseling psychology and functions as an essential member of the interdisciplinary treatment team. S/he performs or arranges for diagnostic and/or psychometric assessment as needed; conducts an initial assessment of the patient's overall life situation and documents an initial diagnosis and individualized treatment plan, revising them when necessary. establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with patients and provides specialized individual and group-based empirically supported intervention methods for mental health-related conditions; provides and monitors services to patients with severe stress symptoms, requiring special expertise and continual assessment and clinical documentation of the psychosocial status, treatment status, and rehabilitation progress, including follow-up treatment, crisis intervention when necessary, and serving as a patient advocate when appropriate. provides consultation regarding patient problems in area of specialized knowledge, including anxiety disorders and the psychological and vocational factors affecting patient care and treatment; provides behavioral expertise, education, and clinical guidance to MH staff in the management of patients; assesses and coordinates with providers within the Pain Rehabilitation Outpatient Interdisciplinary team at BVAMC whether other interventions such as psychiatric, medical or palliative care are required; performs outreach activities and may interface with military organizations, agencies and veterans' service organizations in the communities where veterans live. is responsible for accurate, timely and appropriate completion of clinical patient care documentation; routinely searches literature relevant to mental health, chronic pain, other stress related conditions and their treatment, reviews and translates research into practical interventions for improved patient treatment outcomes; may function as a principal, co-principal, or collaborative investigator, proposing investigations, coordinating their conduct, recruiting subjects, reviewing data, and submitting findings in publishable form. As a member of the professional staff of the Mental Health service line, s/he: - participates in the policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning processes of the MH program. provides psychological services, including assessment and intervention, within the scope of his/her clinical privileges and special proficiencies, and determines when consultation for specialized psychological services is required. Maintains and upgrades professional knowledge and skills by involvement in appropriate continuing education activities. serves on committees and other work groups at the direction or approval of the Mental Health Service Chief. Teaches and/or supervises psychology interns and psychology practicum students as appropriate. Provides educational experiences including in-service education for psychology staff and trainees. and other Medical Center staff, as appropriate Designs, conducts, reports, or otherwise supports research activities relevant to area of expertise and the continuum of care within the division. Designs and/or implements the evaluation of treatment efforts and programs. Consults with or provides psychological services to treatment programs or services outside of primary duty assignment with the approval of the program manager. Performs other related duties as assigned by the Supervising Psychologist/Assistant Chief for Chief, Mental Health Service. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, or 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available to eligible candidates. Telework: Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 51217F, Clinical Psychologist, GS-0180-13 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized, for eligible candidates. 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.
