Job opening: Assessment Psychologist
Salary: $87 964 - 162 983 per year
Published at: Nov 03 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
The Assessment Psychologists are licensed at the doctoral level to practice independently in the provision of psychological services consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. This position is located in the Mental Health Service Line and serves to provide psychological assessment services to primarily mental health patients.
Duties
This position is located in Mental Health Service Line. The Psychologist diagnoses mental disorders, conducts psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treats mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provides adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Duties include but are not limited to:
The Assessment Psychologist will conduct psychological testing as referred, which includes administration, scoring, and interpretation of a wide-range of psychodiagnostic, personality, and cognitive tests. The assessment psychologist is responsible for completing full written assessment reports and for providing direct feedback to Veterans and/or referring providers.
The Assessment Psychologist will provide inpatient evaluations on medical floors, and inpatient psychiatry as referred
The Assessment Psychologist will provide capacity evaluations as referred
The Assessment Psychologist will provide evaluations at any of the Salisbury VAMC locations as needed
The Assessment Psychologist provides individual and group psychotherapy to veterans involved in various programs if referred
The Assessment Psychologist participates in treatment planning, case conferences and collaborative efforts as needed
Timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate
Assist patients with process for how to request release of records, returns telephone calls, linking of services, and appropriate referrals as needed in a timely fashion.
With permission from patient, collateral consultation with significant others/ support systems to aid in the facilitation of patients' treatment
Provides Clinical Supervision to Post-Doctoral Fellows, Psychology Pre-doctorial Interns and Masters level trainees
Is involved in the Psychology Training Program and is a member of the Psychology Training Faculty
Assists in the training programs for other professions, and other professions trainees as appropriate. This includes medical students, medical and psychiatric residents, nursing students, fellows, and other graduate or post-graduate trainees.
Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues to include patient's decision-making capacity regarding health care
Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients
Assists in preparation of RFP's and grant proposals, as assigned
Serves on medical center committees and departmental committees as requested
Other duties and tasks as assigned
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Available/ Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact James Grimm
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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
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).ORHave 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. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.AND 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
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:
GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-11, Entry Level None beyond the basic requirements.
GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-12, Developmental Level: Must have at least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's:
Knowledge of, and ability to apply, a wide range of professional psychological theories and assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
Ability to develop coherent 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.
GRADE REQUIREMENTS GS-13, Full Performance Level: Must have At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSA's:
Knowledge of, and ability to apply, advanced professional psychological theories and techniques 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 and ability to utilize relevant findings and incorporate them into clinical practice
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103, PART II, APPENDIX G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard, GS-0180.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.
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103,The full performance level of this vacancy is GS13.
Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary, but may require walking, bending, standing.
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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center
1601 Brenner Avenue
Salisbury, NC 28144
US
- Name: Kristopher Palmer
- Email: [email protected]
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