Clarification from the agency

First area of consideration: Current, Permanent Employees of Birmingham VA Second area of consideration: Current, Permanent employees of VHA excepted service Thirst are of consideration: VHA Health Profession Trainees

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As a clinical care provider, the psychologist is a credentialed and privileged Licensed Independent Practitioner who functions as an essential member of the interdisciplinary treatment team, duties include, but not limited to:

• Performs or arranges for diagnostic and/or psychometric assessment as needed.
• Conducts an initial assessment of the patient's overall life situation and documents an initial diagnosis and individualized treatment plan, revising them when necessary.
• Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with patients and provides specialized individual and group-based empirically supported intervention methods for mental health-related conditions.
• Provides and monitors services to patients with severe stress symptoms, requiring special expertise and continual assessment and clinical documentation of the psychosocial status, treatment status, and rehabilitation progress, including follow-up trea1ment, crisis intervention when necessary, and serving as a patient advocate when appropriate.
• Provides consultation regarding patient problems in area of specialized knowledge, including anxiety disorders and the psychological and vocational factors affecting patient care and treatment.
• Provides behavioral expertise, education, and clinical guidance to l\1H staff in the management of patients.
• Assesses and coordinates with providers within Primary Care and BVAMC when other interventions such as psychiatric, medical or palliative care are required.
• Performs outreach activities and may interface with military organizations, agencies and veterans' service organizations in the communities where veterans live.
• Responsible for accurate, timely and appropriate completion of clinical patient care documentation.
• Routinely searches literature relevant to combat related stress conditions and their treatment, reviews and translates research into practical interventions for improved patient treatment outcomes.
• May function as a principal, co-principal, or collaborative investigator, proposing investigations, coordinating their conduct, recruiting subjects, reviewing data and submitting findings in publishable form.

• Participates in the policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning processes. of the MH program.
• Provides psychological services, including assessment and intervention, within the scope of his/her clinical privileges and special proficiencies, and determines when consultation for specialized psychological services is required.
• Participates in quality assurance and performance improvement activities of the division and of the Medical Center.
• Participates in and meets the requirements of the Psychology Service Professional Standards Board as appropriate.
• Maintains and upgrades professional knowledge and skills by involvement in appropriate continuing education activities.
• Serves on, or chairs, counsels, committees, or other work groups at the direction or approval of the Psychology Program Manager and/or Chief, Mental Health.

• Teaches and/or supervises psychology interns and psychology practicum students as appropriate.
• Provides educational experiences including in-service education for psychology staff and trainees, and other Medical Center staff, as appropriate.
• Designs, conducts, reports, or otherwise supports research activities relevant to area of expertise and the continuum of care within the division.
• Designs and/or implements the evaluation of treatment efforts and programs.
• Consults with or provides psychological services to treatment programs or services outside of primary duty assignment with the approval of the program manager.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by the MH Clinical Director, Gadsden CBOC; Supervising Psychologist/Assistant Chief for Chief, Mental Health Service.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• 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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• Education: (1) 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: (a) The re-specialization 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 re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] OR
• Internships: 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 (pre1979) 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. 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.
• NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

• Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level): None beyond the basic requirements.
• Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level): At least one 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.

1. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
5. 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.

• Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level): At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

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.

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, resume, 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.