Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens, but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.

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Duties:
The neuropsychology subsection within the mental health service provides complex diagnostic assessment services focused on the intersection between functional neuroanatomy and classic psychiatric presentations. Neuropsychologists conduct cognitive evaluations with a variety of patient populations, including those with neurodegenerative illnesses (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), stroke, movement disorders, seizures, neurologic sequelae secondary to substance use, psychiatric illnesses, etc.

Our neuropsychologists also conduct necessary pre-transplant, pre-bariatric surgery, and pre-chronic pain intervention evaluations. Neuropsychologists also serve as consultants on multidisciplinary teams and supervise pre-doctoral level trainees. The neuropsychologist engages in a scope of practice consistent with their state license.

The neuropsychologist will have received a PhD or PsyD from an APA-accredited doctoral program, has completed an APA-accredited internship with experience in neuropsychology, and completed a two-year neuropsychology fellowship in alignment with the Houston Conference Guidelines.

Neuropsychologists must be either ABPP-CN board-certified or ABPP-CN board eligible. At the GS-11 level, the neuropsychologist does not need to be fully licensed, but must be supervised under the supervision of a fully licensed neuropsychologist.
The neuropsychologist must also maintain current BLS certification.

Functions:

• Provide outpatient and, as needed, inpatient neuropsychological evaluations.
• Provide presurgical evaluations in the areas of transplant, bariatric, and chronic pain interventions.
• Conduct follow-up neuropsychological feedback sessions to provide feedback to patients and their collaterals.
• Complete CPRS patient care documentation, i.e., submitting a full neuropsychological evaluation report within 10 business days of completion of testing.
• Collaborates with referring physicians on as needed basis, including potential involvement in multidisciplinary meeting settings.
• Responds to patient messages from secure messages and the Mental Health Call Center.
• Maintains patient records and files. Follows HIPAA and Privacy Act guidelines regarding patient information.
• Optional Elements:
  • Provide supervision to predoctoral practicum and intern-level students.
  • Involved in Psychology Training Program and Training Committee.
  • Hold faculty appointment (may include adjunct status) at affiliated universities. Indiana University Medical School, University of Indianapolis, Indiana University/Bloomington, Indiana State University, Ball State University
  • Provide leadership guidance and consultation to staffs of units to which assigned.
  • Is involved in the training of medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, nursing students, fellows and other graduate or post-graduate trainees, as appropriate.
  • Engage in research as discussed with the Psychology Group, and approved by the IUPUI IRB and the VA IRB.
  • Present outcome data and research results at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings, and/or publishes at least yearly.
  • Actively participate in leadership roles on local, state and national professional organizations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position
EDRP Authorized: Contact VISN10HREDRPSLRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9XckTotal Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.
• Education - 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 are specialization program meeting both of the following conditions:
    • a) specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and
    • b) 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.***See Education below
• 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.
• Internship: 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.
• Fellowship: Have successfully completed a two-year Neuropsychology fellowship with training consistent with the Houston Conference Guidelines in the field of neuropsychology.
• Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above:
  • GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement
    • Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of 6 modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research. They may be assigned to any program area. Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist.
  • GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level
    • Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of 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.
  • GS-13 Level: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
    • Active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment
    • A full, current and unrestricted license.
    • Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
      • 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.

*Experience is only creditable for the Psychologist if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed.

The full performance level of this position if selected as Psychologist is GS 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS 11 to GS 13

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc. Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer. This position may require occasional travel. The position requires periods of walking, standing, sitting and bending.

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.

• NOTE: You must include qualifying specialized experience employment periods in mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy format on your resume and indicate Full-Time or Part-Time (if Part-time, must include # of hours worked per week). AND, if you have held a Government position, that position's grade level MUST be listed on your resume; Failure to include all requirements in your resume will result in disqualification. Please refer to USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my federal resume? for additional information on resume requirements.

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.