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

Mental Health Integration (MHI) Clinical Practice: The MHI Psychologist provides functional assessment, triage, intervention, education, and consultative services regarding a wide range of possible concerns. Consistent with the VA Whole Health philosophy, the MHI Psychologist promotes collaboration in support of the Veteran's Mission/Aspiration/Purpose and awareness of the mental and behavioral aspects of health and well-being. The MHI Psychologist utilizes a Population-Based Care and Public Health approach to maximize the reach of services to as many Veterans as possible. The MHI Psychologist works as a mental health provider embedded within the Pain Clinic team. As a member of the MHSL Psychology Service, the MHI Psychologist provides back up coverage as needed to support the MHSL Psychology Service. Collaborates with Specialty Medical Team members and others as appropriate (e.g., PCMHI, General Mental Health, Primary Care) 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 the Specialty Medical Clinic Completes most individual appointments within 30 minutes. Uses Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines. Advances clinic capacity to complete (or coordinate to ensure the completion of) suicide risk assessments and intervention within the Pain Clinic. Supports Stepped-Care principles to facilitate "on-time, on target" services to Veterans, matching the intensity of services with the level of clinical need. 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 Pain Clinic, making exceptions as needed depending on Veteran need and disease-course. Supports Pain Clinic decision-making, building on Pain Clinic interventions and improving Pain Clinic provider - patient working relationships. Utilizes intermittent visits and flexible patient contact strategies to support brief but longitudinal care as part of the Pain Clinic Ensures quality of care by successfully completing the national VA trainings and associated ongoing education modules as well as attending Community of Practice calls. Utilizes the Whole Health approach in clinical practice, including connecting with the Veteran's Mission/Aspiration/Purpose to inform, plan and deliver clinical services. Clinical roles as assigned by the Chief, Psychology Service. Consultation and Interdisciplinary Team-Based Skills: Engages in Pain Clinic Team huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serves as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations. Provides education to Pain Clinic on mental health and health behavior issues, as well as tips to promote effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change. Integrates self into routine workflow of the Pain Clinic and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care. Routinely provides feedback (verbal and/or written) to team members on the same day as referral Works collaboratively with other team members to ensure high quality, effective, Veteran-centered services at both patient and programmatic levels. Within the Pain Clinic, raises awareness and understanding regarding the mental and behavioral health impacts and needs often associated with the medical conditions being addressed. Assist Pain Clinic in streamlining procedures for standard screenings and referrals (e.g., same day warm handoffs). Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Eastern Standard Time Compressed/Flexible: Available following initial orientation period Telework: Not Authorized; pending review by leadership. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 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

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 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. 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 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); 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. 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: 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. NOTE: At the GS-11 and GS-12 levels non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" 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. 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 GS 12 (Developmental Level): 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: 1. Knowledge of 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 GS 13 (Full Performance Level): 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: 1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations. 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: 1 year professional experience (can be during internship or postdoctoral fellowship) in Primary Care Mental Health or similar integrated care setting. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 February 7, 2018, PART II APPENDIX G18. The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 12 to 13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

See QUALIFICATIONS SECTION

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 Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Melonese Martin
• Phone: 210-996-7135
• Email: [email protected]