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

Work Schedule: M-F 0730-1600 or 0800- 1630, or compressed a schedule 4x10/s or 0700-1730 or 0730-1800, no weekends, nights, or on-call coverage required. Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates 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 This position is located in the Behavioral Health Service, with primary assignment to the acute psychiatry 2E inpatient unit. This psychologist provides assessment and treatment services to veterans admitted to the acute psychiatry 2E inpatient unit at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System. The incumbent conducts assessment interviews (with testing as needed) and documents findings and diagnostic impressions in the medical record. Develops and implements treatment plans in collaboration with other members of the treatment team, provides group and individual psychotherapeutic interventions, and documents all services provided. Assists with post-discharge disposition and aftercare. Participates in program development and activities, offering particular guidance with regard to behavioral management and patient centered recovery focused interventions. Coordinates inpatient psychiatric unit programming and ensures it is within all regulatory and agency standards. This clinician functions within the Behavioral Health Service. Incumbent reports to the Chief of Behavioral Health Inpatient, which further falls organizationally under the Associate Chief of Staff for Behavioral Health Service (ACOS-BHS). Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services, including psychological assessment, and uses the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care. Performs evaluations for the full range of mental health clients, particularly those with acute psychiatric symptoms, serious mental illness, and comorbid substance use disorders. Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions for Veterans hospitalized on the psychiatric inpatient unit, including individual and group psychotherapy, use of evidence-based interventions, family/couples therapy, psychoeducation, case/care management, and referrals as appropriate. Fully accountable for practice, including Veteran visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Collaboratively completes treatment plans for all new admissions using Mental Health Suite. Completes required measures in the Behavioral Health Lab (BHL). Coordinates discharge appointments. Attend regularly scheduled treatment team meetings, daily huddles and other staff-related consultation meetings. Establishes and implements outcome measures using data-driven quality assurance processes as appropriate. Responsible for coordinating, developing and implementing programming for the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit. Serves as a consultant, liaison, and point of contact for programs within Behavioral Health. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization. Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate. Providing and, where appropriate, referring patients, families and significant others for counseling in health maintenance and disease prevention. Assuming responsibility for professional development by attending relevant training and regularly reviewing the literature to improve clinical competencies. Participates actively in Performance Improvement (PI) activities. Participates in a variety of meetings as directed and approved by the Chief of BH Inpatient and Chief of Psychology. Participates in local, VISN, and national committees/community networking activities as requested by BHS or facility leadership. Participating in research as appropriate through case finding and referral of patients to clinical investigators engaged in research or through participating in research studies. Promoting patient independence and achievement of optimal health through appropriate psychosocial education and community referrals. Applying new approaches to patient care through integration of approved investigative and research methods in clinical practice, basing interventions on evidence of effectiveness. May be involved in the Psychology training programs, the training of social work interns, psychiatric residents, medical students, and nursing students, as appropriate. Other duties as assigned by management.

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: Must be proficient in written and spoken English 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: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, 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. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND 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 (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.) 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. 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: Staff Psychologist, GS-11 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements. Staff Psychologist, GS-12 Experience: 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. 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. Staff Psychologist, GS-13 Experience: 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. 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18 - Psychologist Qualification Standard, GS-0180, Veteran Health Administration, dated February 7, 2018. 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. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items such as books, files, or laptop computer.

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 Las Vegas VA Medical Center 6900 North Pecos Road North Las Vegas, NV 89086 US
• Name: Allison Hoffman
• Phone: 304-350-2062
• Email: [email protected]