Vacancy expired!
SummaryA Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a Highly Qualified Individual. The closing date of this vacancy is being extended to 12/31/2020. This vacancy will remain open until filled. The first cut-off date is 8/14/2020. Additional applications will be referred as needed.ResponsibilitiesNOTE: Applicant Expiration: Applicants will remain active for 3 months after their initial application is received and/or updated. After that time you must update your application through your USAJobs account if you would like to be made active again for possible consideration during the open period. The Psychologist will be a member of the HBPC Interdisciplinary Treatment Team (IDTT) that provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services in the homes of Veterans with complex, chronic, and disabling disease. In addition to primary care interventions, HBPC provides palliative care, rehabilitation, disease management, and care coordination services. HBPC targets Veterans in advanced stages of chronic disease, particularly those at high risk for recurrent hospitalization or nursing home placement. Outcomes expected ofHBPC include effective management of chronic disease and reduction of inpatient days and total cost of care. HBPC teams include representatives from medicine service, nursing; pharmacy, social work, rehabilitation, dietetics and psychology. The Psychologist functions as the primary mental health provider of the HBPC team, providing mental health prevention, assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services. The incumbent will 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. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. The incumbent will demonstrate the knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations, the ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies, the ability to incorporate new clinical procedures, the ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects and the 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. The Psychologist is licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peersand supervisors as appropriate. The incumbent consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient careissues. The incumbent may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. The Psychologist applies advanced professional psychological diagnostic methods and evidence-based interventionstrategies to a full range of patient problems in the HBPC setting. However, the emphasis is on serving Veterans withserious and complex medical problems by reducing psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal barriers to cognitivedeficits; triage for mental health care to appropriate VA or community agencies; psychological, cognitive, and capacityassessments; brief psychotherapy and some case management; and health promotion and prevention-orientated services. Mental health treatment and prevention-oriented services will emphasize evidence-based and best practice approaches. The incumbent will also provide interventions to help HBPC patients manage behavioral factors associated with behavioral medicine problems that promote medical compliance. The incumbent will function as a full member of the HBPC IDTT and provide ongoing team consultation services to other HBPC team members. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 0800-1630Financial Disclosure Report: Not requiredRequirementsConditions of EmploymentQualificationsTo qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/31/2020.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 Requirement - 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 Requirement - 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 program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am 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 Requirement - 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 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). 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 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: 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. Preferred Experience: Three years' experience as a licensed Psychologist. 1 year experience with Geriatric centered therapy. Experience in home care setting. Grade Determinations: GS-13 Staff Psychologist (Full Performance Level): Experience. At least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level. 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.Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed. Post-Doctoral Degree Fellowships. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. 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: Moderate Lifting/Carrying (15-44 pounds); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking/standing (up to 5 hours); kneeling (up to 2 hours); repeated bending (up to 5 hours); climbing, legs only (up to 2 hours); hearing (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability; Cognitive Stability.EducationIMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. The doctoral degree must be fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) https://accreditation.apa.org/accredited-programs, the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) https://www.pcsas.org/, or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) https://cpa.ca/accreditation/cpaaccreditedprograms/ at the time the program was completed. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.Additional InformationReceiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
