Job opening: Psychologist - Pain Management
Salary: $83 205 - 145 414 per year
Published at: Dec 26 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
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. Program 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
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf
Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf
Duties include but not limited to:
The incumbent's clinical focus is as an assessment specialist, behavioral health interventionist, and consultant to the clinicians. The psychologist will work with the multidisciplinary staff to implement programs in group and individual counseling, psychological assessment and behavioral interventions in a complex chronic pain population.
Provides complex assessment services including administering, scoring and interpreting a range of psychological testing, interviewing patient and their families, behavioral assessment of a patient's condition and progress, determining the type of psychotherapy best suited to meet the patient's needs and resources, assessing a patient's degree of improvement and readiness for termination of treatment, and assessing the type of community placement which would be most suitable, if appropriate.
Participates in professional peer review.
Maintain and upgrade professional knowledge and skills by involvement in appropriate continuing education activities.
Provides consultation and professional programs to community agencies in areas of professional expertise.
Performs patient therapeutic orientation to the therapies offered, provide a variety of individual psychotherapies on an outpatient basis and conduct insight oriented group psychotherapy, family therapy, behavioral therapy, and marital therapy as appropriate.
Familiarity with and knowledge of needs of returning combat veterans are preferred.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact
[email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: May be eligible on an ad-hoc basis.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 92644A, 92645A, 92646A
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
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.
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 AP A 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.
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.
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.
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
Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.
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.
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 G 18
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: The position is primarily sedentary, with some bending, walking and stooping required. This position requires the ability to read printed material and distinguish colors, such as reading computer screens and the ability to accurately perceive depth so as to move around workspace safely and to appropriately make contact with patients and staff.
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:
https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Contacts
- Address Aleda E Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
1500 Weiss Street
Saginaw, MI 48602
US
- Name: Elizabeth Troiani
- Phone: 989-497-2500 X13054
- Email: [email protected]
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