Clarification from the agency

The first area of consideration will be current permanent employees of the VA Northern California Health Care System to include the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs); The second area of consideration will be other current permanent VA employees.

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The VA Northern California Health Care system is currently recruiting a Psychologist-Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) for the Mental Health service in the Chico location. While some virtual care may be provided as appropriate, please note this is not a 100% virtual position.

The incumbent will function as a psychologist within the Primary Care clinic, with an emphasis on integration of Mental Health services within Primary Care. It is expected that the incumbent will successfully coordinate service delivery with Primary Care staff and other Mental Health Providers as appropriate.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and focused cognitive assessments.

Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care settings.

Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues.

Provides consultation services for primary care providers to maximize the effectiveness of their interventions in reducing health-risk behaviors and enhancing health-promoting behaviors.

Supports primary care provider (PCP) decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP- patient working relationships.

Provides clinical care management when appropriate directly to an assigned cohort of patients.

Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues to include patient's decision- making capacity regarding health care.

Develops person-centered, culturally sensitive treatment plans to address mental health needs of patients.

Completes all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8Am to 4:30 PM
Telework: Telework, if approved, would be on a regularly scheduled basis, but this is not a remote or virtual position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified applicants.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

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) 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 respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (a) the respecialization 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. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the respecialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. OR
• (3)Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship: (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.
• 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. 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.
• 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.