The Psychologist (Compensation & Pension) reports to the Compensation and Pension Program Manager and is under the direct supervision of the Chief of Staff.

Duties

The Psychologist, Compensation and Pension ( C&P) will diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological and/or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, group, and family psychotherapy along with psychological assessment. The Psychologist (C&P) will function in accordance with the policies, principles, professional ethics, and techniques of accepted Psychology practice to include the American Psychological Association, professional licensing code, and state law. Additional guides are available in the form of Veterans Administration directives, program guides, bulletins and circulars, Medical Center Policies, Medical Staff By-Laws, applicable Labor-Management Bargaining Agreements, and external accreditation agencies utilized by the VA Medical Center (Joint Commission, CARF, etc.). Duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to the following: Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multidisciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Assures that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished. This may include ordering the following consults: residential and outpatient mental health programs, (i.e., Substance Abuse Services, PTSD Clinical Team and RRTP, Mental Health Intensive Case Management, Military Sexual Trauma, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center, and Whole Health). Fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their Veterans. Oversees the establishment of program monitors and outcome measurements within programs assigned using a data-driven quality assurance process Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate. Performs other related duties as assigned in functional statement. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm, Monday - Friday (Alternate tour of duty may be required based on needs of agency/facility operating hours). Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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: Citizenship Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.) 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. [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. 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. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Preferred Experience: Experience diagnosing initial or review Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or mental disorders associated with trauma experienced while serving within active military duty Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. Psychologist, 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 KSAs. 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. Psychologist, 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 KSAs. 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. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS11 to GS13) References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Appendix G18 Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to exercise a high degree of emotional and mental discipline at all times in order to continue to carry out duties effectively. This is especially necessary during time periods when the incumbent encounters significant or extreme duress as a result of interactions with patients.

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]