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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.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. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Education. 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. 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. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the 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 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: 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 Internship. 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. Grade Determinations:GS-14. Experience: At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. References: VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18.The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: This work requires sitting for long periods of time, working closely with others, and working alone. ["The psychologist serves as a Program Manager for the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program. The team provides outpatient mental health care which is comprehensive and integrated.Program Manager Responsibilities Provide routine supervision, training, educational opportunities, and programmatic oversight. Responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of high-quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served. Responsible for planning and developing and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. Oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. Develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis. Participate fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multidisciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Assures that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished. This may include ordering the following consults: Mental Health Service Programs, (i.e., Substance Abuse, PTSD, Mental Health Intensive Case Management, Compensated Work Therapy, Homeless, and Day Treatment) Vocational Rehabilitation, and Long-Term Care. Fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, appropriate clinical documentation, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Timely completion of all program evaluations and documents required by the Medical Center, VISN and VACO, (k) Ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies such as JCAHO Supervisory Responsibilities Has direct or indirect administrative and professional supervision of subordinates. Functions as the first line supervising authority for team. Provides administrative oversight and clinical consultation to other interdisciplinary team members. Provides clinical supervision to psychology interns and other trainees as appropriate. Clinical Responsibilities Provides clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training. Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staffs of units to which assigned. May be involved in the training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, fellows and other graduate or post-graduate trainees, as appropriate. Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients. The psychologist program manager functions as the leader of the multidisciplinary treatment team, providing the full scope of psychological care to Veterans, including the following: Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and uses the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care.Performs evaluations for wide array of patients representing diverse diagnostic entities.Provides a full range of therapeutic interventionsParticipates as an active treatment team member of the BHIP teamConsults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation and/or research activities. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible:May be available upon request. Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact Stacy Hermann, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance at V20CompensationTeam@va.gov Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.