Psychological services are an integral part of the overall VHA health care program and are provided as part of health care service delivery. Psychological services provide help to veterans and their families in resolving the psychosocial, emotional, and cognitive problems associated with the stresses of illness.

Duties

Major Duties include: Psychological assessments, psychosocial assessment, diagnostic evaluations, crises interventions, brief psychotherapy, and care management services. Determining patients' needs for psychological evaluations, specialized evaluation procedures, diagnostic procedures, individual, group, and specialized proficiencies and techniques. Performs or refers, when appropriate, candidates to individual and group psychotherapy. Provides the indicated therapeutic, diagnostic, or evaluative intervention. Integrates efforts with those of other professional and administrative personnel who may comprise a multidisciplinary treatment team. Utilizes psychological measures demonstrating basic competence. Respond to requests or consults regarding the need for psychological testing and provides appropriate diagnostic assessment to answer the referral question. Uses a broad range of psychological measures to assess cognitive, emotional, personality, and behavioral conditions. Documents his/her assessment adequately and retains all "raw data" in accordance with VA regulations and MHS policy. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary, but may require walking, bending, standing, and /or carrying of light items such as files and manuals. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm. Telework: Eligible Virtual: This is a virtual position. ( This Position will start virtual. Will Eventually need to be on site). Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: A recruitment/relocation incentive may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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 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. OR, Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND Internships (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 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. 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: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must meet the following grade requirements. GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-11, Entry Level None beyond the basic requirements. GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-12, Developmental Level: Must have at least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, a wide range of professional psychological theories and assessment methods to a variety of patient populations. Ability to develop coherent 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. GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-13, Full Performance Level: Must have At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, advanced professional psychological theories and techniques 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 and ability to utilize relevant findings and incorporate them into clinical practice References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103, PART II, APPENDIX G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard, GS-0180.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Oscar G Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility 325 East H Street Iron Mountain, MI 49801 US
• Name: Cosby Johnson
• Phone: 515-323-7575 X3239
• Email: [email protected]