Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to all U.S. Citizens. If you are a current federal employee or employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Please apply to CAZM-11267530-22-RID

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*NOTE: 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.

***THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT***

This vacancy will remain open until filled. The first cut-off date is 11/17/2021. Additional applications will be referred as needed.

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 peers and supervisors as appropriate. The incumbent consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. The incumbent may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities. The Psychologist applies advanced professional psychological diagnostic methods and evidence-based intervention strategies to a full range of patient problems in the HBPC setting. However, the emphasis is on serving Veterans with serious and complex medical problems by reducing psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal barriers to cognitive deficits; triage for mental health care to appropriate VA or community agencies; psychological, cognitive, and capacity assessments; 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, 0800AM-1630PM
Telework: Service will consider 50% Telework for this position for highly qualified applicants.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Staff Psychologist Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Program/PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
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
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

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.

• Three years' experience as a licensed Psychologist.
• 1 year experience with Geriatric centered therapy.
• Experience in home care setting.

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.