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.

Duties

***This is an open continuous announcement. Certificates of eligible applicants will be issued as vacancies exist. Each location listed may or may not have a current vacant position. As a Licensed Provider for the Department of Veterans Affairs, you will practice independently in the provision of psychological services, engage in professional and scientific work which relates to behavior, capacities, personality, interests, emotions and mental disorders, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. The PCMHI Co-located, Collaborative care (PCMHI CCC) psychologist position is administratively within Birmingham Mental Health Service Line, with primary assignment to the Primary Care- Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) program, located within primary care. The PCMHI CCC 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. The focus is on general service delivery for a wide range of concerns and resolving problems within the primary care service context. Behavioral health visits are brief (generally 20--30 minutes), limited in number (1-6 visits), and are provided in the primary care practice area, structured so that the patient views meeting with the behavioral health provider as a routine primary care service. PCMHI CCC Psychologist functions within fast-paced primary care teams and can expect to consult with 8-10 patients per day with a large percentage of those being seen via warm handoff within PACT to ensure same day access. The primary goals are assisting PACT members with identification, treatment, and management of mental health and behavioral medicine conditions in the enrolled population. Duties include: PCMHI Clinical Practice Management - Collaborates with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at the patient and programmatic levels - Maintains daily open access slots and encourages same day warm handoffs within PACT - Completes most individual appointments (e.g., 75%) within 30 minutes - Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines for PCMHI - Refers Veterans with more severe or complex needs to the appropriate general or specialty mental health program - Provides time-limited, brief, evidence-based, individual or group interventions (e.g., approximately 1-6 sessions) for a broad range of mental health and health behavior concerns within the primary care setting - Ensures quality of care by successfully completing the national VA PCMHI Competency Training Program (or approved equivalent) and associated ongoing education modules Documentation Skills - Writes clear, concise notes that are optimized for collaboration within PACT based on the PCMHI CCC functional assessment and follow-up visit guidelines - Notes document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation/team care discussion, liaison with specialty care providers) as appropriate - Notes are completed same day or within 24 hours Consultation and Interdisciplinary Team Based Skills - Engages in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations - Integrates self into routine workflow of Primary Care and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care - Tolerates interruptions, demonstrates flexibility and adaptability, and maintains availability for ad hoc team discussion - Accepts and encourages same day warm handoffs - Routinely provides feedback (verbal and/or written) to PCP and other PACT members same day as referral Additional Duties Administration: - Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces, as endorsed by supervisors. - Participates as a non-voting member of the medical staff, in accord with medical staff by-laws. - Participates in support of BVAMC and Psychology administrative and performance improvement activities, e.g., by taking on assigned projects and serving on committees. Academic/Teaching/Training: - Supervises psychology predoctoral interns, practicum students and post-doctoral fellows in accord with training program policies and accrediting agency requirements. - Provides staff and student didactic training and consultation as requested in content areas of scholarly and/or clinical expertise. Research/ Program evaluation - May participate in program evaluation and/or research activities. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible:Available Telework: Ad-Hoc Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 51215F, 51216F EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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. English Language Proficiency Requirement - 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. 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 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. 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). NOTE: 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. 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. Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level, and are able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities: 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 2 additional years of experience, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level, as a professional psychologist that was obtained through employment as a psychologist or through participating in a supervised post-doctoral psychology training program that demonstrates 1) active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or 2) a full, current and unrestricted license. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics associated with current psychology practice: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to a 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 if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: Position is primarily sedentary in a Medical Office setting. The 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.

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 Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Jenna McCarthy
• Email: [email protected]