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. 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

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed
• Education
• Candidates must have an 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
• 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 apart 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 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
• (NOTE: Once board certified - the employee is required to maintain board certification.) 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
• 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
• GS-11 Experience
• None beyond the basic requirements
• 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
• Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist
• GS-12 Experience
• At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11)
• Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's: 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 many conduct research
• They may be assigned to any program area
• GS-13 Experience
• At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of - and ability to apply - professional psychological treatments to a 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
• Preferred Experience: Preferred experience in behavioral threat assessment and management - providing treatment for Veterans who have experienced homelessness - substance use disorder and severe and persistent mental illness as well as Axis II disorders
• Experience working with law enforcement as well as justice involved Veterans also preferred
• Experience navigating complex care coordination in multifaceted systems as well as policy development - and data tracking analysis - reporting - and management
• References: VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Appendix G18 Physical Requirements
• Physical demands of the work are generally minor - as the position requires sitting - standing - and walking
• Some travel is required as the incumbent is required to conducted monthly active outreach in the community which may require traveling long distances
• Work - divided between office and clinical settings - is primarily sedentary
• May require prolonged standing - moderate walking - and manual dexterity
• Requires carrying light items - such as books - files - or laptop computer.

Duties

• Major duties include - but are not limited to: Disruptive Behavior committee (DBC) Attends DBC new chair intensive training within 90 days of hire or earliest scheduled training offered by Central office
• Completes required DBC TMS trainings within 30 days of hire
• Attends bi-annual DBC all chair conference conducted by Central office as provided and spacing allows
• Participates in monthly DBC Community of Practice and Violence Risk Assessment conference calls provided by Central Office -WVPP
• Coordinating and managing an interdisciplinary team
• Team members include Chief of Police or designee - Patient Advocates - Patient Safety Personnel - Physicians - Pharmacists - Nursing - Mental Health Professionals - Regional Counsel (Ad-Hoc) - Labor partners - and other clinical and non-clinical personnel and executives
• Providing oversight and coordination of health care system-wide efforts to prevent - reduce - manage - triage and respond to incidents of threatening - violent - or otherwise safety-compromising behaviors perpetrated by patients - visitors - and other non-employee beneficiaries of the VHA
• Responsible for overseeing and coordinating day to day business of the DBC
• Works with Administrative support and/or Program Specialist to produce agenda with timely follow-up to all decisions
• Responsible for the implementation - education - training - and updates for ECHCS Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior and Workplace Violence Prevention or other related ECHCS policies or standard operating procedures for the implementation of VHA Directive 1160.08 and other laws - policies and guidance
• Responsible for the management of computer-based flagging systems through VISTA and CPRS managing Behavioral Patient Record Flags to include - flag entry and flag review every 2 years maximum or upon status change
• The incumbent will identify and review flags of new ECHCS patients and will notifying/coordinate with other site DBC points of contact when transferring flags to other VHA sites communicating any risk relevant data to that site
• Follows procedures including timely response to Order of Behavioral Restriction request for reviews
• Responsible for all VISN and Central office requests for information about disruptive behavior training or any data about disruptive behavior incidents
• Interface with ECHCS police - Office of Inspector general (OIG) and coordinate care programs to manage patients with disruptive behavior
• Work closely with the Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP) manager to ensure all local and national policies and directives are being met
• Responsible for the education - training - implementation of local and national policies pertaining to disruptive behavior
• Working knowledge of how system roles - responsibilities and reporting structures influence these sensitive communications
• Works closely with the ACOS - MHS - the Chief of Staff - other executive leadership - and service line leadership to ensure the DBC operates within local and national best practices
• Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior (PMDB) Supports the PMDB Coordinator in education of PMDB based on WBRA results
• Obtains and maintains PMDB Certified Trainer status
• Provides PMDB classes for ECHCS employees on a recurrent and ongoing basis with frequency determined based on need and availability but no less than once a month
• Employee Threat Assessment Team (ETAT) Serves on the ETAT requested by the Medical Center Director
• Complete ETAT training within 30 days of hire
• Attend additional ETAT trainings as available and provided by national program office
• Coordinate with WVPP Manager to assess - triage - and manage ETAT cases as needed
• Interviews at the request of WVPP Manager as needed
• Operates with the highest degree of adherence to confidentiality and a thorough understanding of need-to-know communications in consult with the WVPP Manager - HR - and legal counsel
• Workplace Behavioral Risk Assessment (WBRA) Assist in leading and coordinating the annual Workplace Behavioral Risk Assessment based on data collection and analysis of DBRS through the year
• Clinical Teaching/Training Provides clinical supervision to pre-doctoral external practicum students in clinical/counseling psychology - doctoral-level interns in clinical/counseling psychology - and post-doctoral fellows in clinical psychology
• Supports activities of the ECHCS Psychology Training Programs and provides/participates in relevant educational seminars - meetings - subcommittees - and workgroups
• Provides training and guidance to other health professions trainees health staff
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: Not Available Functional Statement #: 554-58942-A EDRP Authorized: Contact Anthony Salas - anthony.salas3@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required