To provide mental health services to the veteran population enrolled at the Lexington VA Medical Center. Services include provision of high-quality case management, clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers / agencies as needed by the Veteran. This posting will be used to fill multiple vacancies.

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. The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) functions as a coordinator for care of veterans at suicide risk and an consultant to the MHSL, facility leadership, program managers, and staff concerning suicide prevention strategies for individual patients, for the facility and veteran community as a whole. Services include assessing veterans for high risk for suicide, diagnosing mental health and high-risk factors related to suicide and suicide prevention, and providing treatment options. Major duties include but not limited to: Functions as a coordinator for care of Veterans at suicide risk and an advisor to all facility leadership, program managers, and staff concerning suicide prevention strategies for individual patients' level, and for the facility and Veterans community as a whole. Responsible for tracking and reporting all suicide attempts and completions at their facility. Ensures that patients identified as being at high risk for suicide receive follow-up for any missed mental health appointments in accordance with policy and that this follow-up is documented in the electronic medical record. Responsible for the delivery of S.A.V.E. training, or other approved "gatekeeper'' training, to all nonclinical staff who have patient contact. Responsible for the delivery of other training programs at the site by request of the facility. Responsible for the delivery of the community version of S.A.V.E. training. Responsible for delivering community outreach activities every month. Provides resources for both the VA facility and community related to Veteran suicide and suicide prevention issues. Participates in individual RCA's concerning Veterans who have attempted suicide or died by suicide. Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces as needed. Reviews all CSRE to ensure accuracy of assessment, information, and data collection. Reviews ALL Suicide Prevention High Risk Flag Placement E-Consults Clinical Responsibilities: Provides screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders. Including offering individual and group psychotherapy. Apply advanced theories and techniques to a wide range of Veterans with mental health disorders. Coordinates treatment plans and delivery of services that best meet the needs of patients and are based on scientific research on optimal treatment. Promotes communication/interactions between team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the treatment process. Provides training and supervision of clinical staff /trainees, as appropriate. Participates in program evaluation efforts in conjunction with Office of Mental Health Services and the medical center. Teaches didactic seminars to psychology interns students on an annual basis. Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center. Attends all staff meetings. Functions independently as a member of the VAMC Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday to Friday Compressed/Flexible:Not Available Telework: AD-HOC, as determined by agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #30338-F Psychologist (Suicide Prevention Coordinator) GS-0180 Recruitment Incentives: Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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. 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 respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization 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. Board Certification and Loss of Credential: (1) Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current, non-restricted, and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. (2) Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: 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. References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard GS-0180; Dated February 7, 2018. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: All candidates must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Candidates must meet the physical requirements outlined in Section II and Section VI of the OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions and must possess emotional and mental stability.

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 Lexington VA Health Care System 2250 Leestown Road Lexington, KY 40511 US
• Name: Paulette Stewart
• Email: [email protected]