Job opening: Staff Psychologist (Primary Care - Mental Health Integration)
Salary: $90 378 - 167 456 per year
Published at: Aug 09 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is assigned to the Mental Health Clinical Center, VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMCHS). The position at this time is based at the Glen Burnie Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) of the VAMHCS but may need to provide psychological services at other VAMHCS sites. This Co-located Collaborative Care (CCC) psychologist is primarily assigned to the Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) program and is located within primary care.
Duties
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
This is an open continuous announcement until September 30, 2023. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.
Major Duties:
The CCC behavioral health provider (psychologist) functions as part of multidisciplinary primary care teams, and delivers brief, consultation-based services to Veterans, primary care providers, and allied Patient Alliance Care Team (PACT) members.
Performs a full range of psychodiagnostic and clinical health psychologist services including assessment and using the most appropriate, evidence-based interventions.
Provides brief and time-limited, evidence-based interventions in the primary care setting.
Provides functional assessment, triage, brief intervention, education and consultative services regarding a wide range of mental health and behavioral medicine concerns.
Identifies a wide range of patient care issues that may overlap between mental health and medical conditions, e.g., chronic pain, addictive disorders including prescribed medications, infectious diseases (i.e., AIDS/HIV), Traumatic Brain Injury (screening), diabetes, and other serious medical illnesses, along with the spectrum of psychological/psychiatric disorders more commonly seen in Primary Care, e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD, dementia (screening), etc.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 23269F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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 (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 (2) 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 (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND (4) 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 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.]
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
English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
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:
Experience:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level)
(a) None beyond the basic requirements.
Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level)(a) 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.
Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level)(a) At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Staff Psychologist, GS-12 (Developmental Level)1. Knowledge 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)1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patients.2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.3. Knowledge of clinical research literature.
Preferred Experience: None
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 PART II APPENDIX G18 FEBRUARY 7, 2018The full performance level of this vacancy 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.
Physical Requirements: Light lifting and carrying (under 15 lbs.); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking and standing (intermittent); hearing (aid permitted); clear speech. The work is mostly sedentary, some walking, standing, and bending may be required. No special physical demands are required to perform the work
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 VA Maryland Health Care System
10 North Greene Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
US
- Name: Teresa Hammond
- Phone: 410-605-7000
- Email: [email protected]
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