Clarification from the agency

This is an INTERNAL ANNOUNCEMENT and is limited to current permanent employees of the St. Cloud VA Health Care System and current permanent VA Nationwide employees. The public and employees of other Federal agencies should apply to announcement number CBSY-11677578-22-GPA.

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Recruitment/Relocation Incentive up to $10,000 may be approved for highly qualified candidates

Incumbent is a Clinical Psychologist assigned to the Primary and Specialty Medicine Service Line. The psychologist spends at least a quarter of his/her time providing direct clinical services and the remaining time engaged with staff and leadership in activities related to the promotion of health and disease prevention of the Veteran population.

Assessment and Evaluation. Administers, scores, and interprets psychological assessment instruments. Obtains and evaluates personal, educational, and vocational histories, reviews records of other services for pertinent data, and prepares evaluative reports.
Individual Psychotherapy. May plan, conduct, record, evaluate, and report on individual psychotherapy sessions.
Group Psychotherapy. May plan, conduct, record, evaluate and report on group psychotherapy sessions, as well as facilitate patient education meetings, milieu and ward therapy programs in addition to the professional processes.
Consultation. May consult with other psychologists, consultants, professional staff, medical center management, or individuals and organizations in the community, usually relating to the status of or plans for patients, problems or procedures related to the operation of the clinical care setting area, and/or problems referred by other services.
Research. May review professional literature for research planning, hypothesis development, instrumentation, data analysis, and scientific reports.
Training. May plan and personally participate in station-wide training programs and in the training of psychologists and other personnel.

HEALTH BEHAVIOR COORDINATOR SPECIFIC DUTIES

• Effectively utilize motivational interviewing skills for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management.
• Provide consultation and training to Primary Care and Mental Health Service Line staff in the, enhancing, maintaining, and supporting health behavior programs for the promotion of health and prevention of disease and enhance patient self­ management of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, HIV, Hepatitis, COPD) to prevent secondary complications and improve long-term outcomes and enhance quality of life.
• Develop programs in collaboration with Health Promotion/Disease Prevention, Tobacco Use Cessation, and Patient Health Education staff members for teaching and/or improving the PCP's core behavioral health skills.
• Contributes to training of primary care teams and others in evidence-based methodologies to effectively communicate with, motivate, coach, and support patients in being aware of relevant health risks, assisting patients in clarifying personal goals for health promotion and disease prevention programs, and developing individualized patient self-management plans.
• Connecting Veterans to internal, and community resources that support health behavior change.
• Support implementation and coordination of one-on-one Health Coaching (HC) that includes, the development of new targeted self-management group offerings.
• Plan, develop, adapt, implement and assess efficacy of health behavior interventions for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management (e.g., weight loss and maintenance, tobacco use cessation, promoting patient self­ management interventions targeting issues such as increasing participation in regular exercise, healthy eating, sleep hygiene).
• Performs specialty health psychology assessment/intervention (e.g., pre-bariatric surgery, Spinal Cord Stimulator, MOVE! patients with particular behavioral issues, patients with unique or complex problems impacting their health promotion/disease prevention self-management plans).
• Responsible for clinician coaching which is the process of assisting clinicians to apply Veteran-centered communication skills (e.g., health education, health coaching, health behavior change counseling, shared decision-making and self­ management support skills) in their clinical interactions.
• This position requires close coordination with physicians, consulting- psychiatrists, social workers, and other psychologists, as well as other technical services for proper evaluation and treatment of patients.

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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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 Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

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:

(a) United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

(b) English Language Proficiency: 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.

(c) 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 applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

(d) 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; 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.

(e) 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.

NOTE: Applicants may qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS:GS-11 Staff Psychologist (Entry Level): None beyond the basic requirements. Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist.

GS-12 Staff Psychologist (Developmental Level): At least 1 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.
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• 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.

• Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the 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.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

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.