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. 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. 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. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship 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. 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. 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. Selective Placement Factor (SPF): This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The SPF for this position is: In addition to the English Language Proficiency, you must also be proficient in basic written and spoken Spanish in order to perform the duties of this position. Grandfathering Provision. 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: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. Staff Psychologist GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience: None beyond the basic requirements. Staff Psychologist GS-12 (Developmental Level) Experience: At least one (1) 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. Staff Psychologist GS-13 (Full Performance Level) Experience: At least two (2) years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one (1) year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. 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. Preferred Experience: Preferred experience in evidence-based psychotherapies such as interpersonal therapy (IPT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression, insomnia, pain, and problem-solving therapy (PST), motivational interviewing, and psychoeducational, social support, and mindfulness-based approaches. Providers who have or are eligible for American Board of Geropsychology are preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, specifically VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard, dated Feb 7, 2018, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. 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 work requires patience and emotional regulation. The work may require using appropriate techniques to physically restrain patients who present a danger to self or others. The work may also require assisting physically disabled Veterans. Day-to-day work involves sitting, walking, standing and carrying light objects. Some of the work is performed in a setting away from the office, where the environment cannot be controlled. ["The VA Caribbean Healthcare System is a 1A Complexity Level facility that offers a wide range of health care services for Veterans in Puerto Rico, Vieques, Saint Thomas, and Saint Croix. The incumbent will be a member of the Mental Health & Behavioral Health Sciences Service (MH&BSS) in San Juan, PR. The incumbent provides specialized Geropsychology services with the Geriatrics-Patient Aligned Care Team (Geri-Pact). Geropsychology is a specialty in professional psychology that applies the knowledge and methods of psychology to understanding and helping older persons and their families to maintain well-being, overcome problems and achieve maximum potential during later life. The incumbent provides assessment, intervention, consultation, and other professional services across a wide range of medical, mental health, residential, community, and other care settings with a population of demographically and socio-culturally diverse older adults. Within assessment services, conducts decision-making capacity evaluations and neuropsychological screenings. Issues addressed may include but not limited to family relationships, memory, sexuality, capacity assessment, health promotion, and substance abuse. Specialized knowledge obtained through education or experience in these areas is preferred: Adult development and aging; behavioral and mental health in late life (medical illnesses, psychopathology, neuroscience and functional changes); foundations of geropsychological assessment (mood, cognition, decision-making and functional capacities);foundations of intervention and consultation about geropsychological interventions, aging services, prevention and health promotion, and models and method of interdisciplinary collaboration. The incumbent performs his/her clinical responsibilities independently but may seek consultation and/or peer supervision as needed. More specifically, the incumbent duties listed below: Performs professional work describing human behavior, determining the reasons for that behavior and predicting and/or modifying the behavior. Performs psychological assessment, evaluation, and treatment of patients with a wide range of psychiatric disorders and psychological issues. Administers, scores, and interprets a wide variety of cognitive and personality psychological tests for differential diagnostic purposes and to offer recommendations for management or treatment of patients. Plans and conducts individual, group, family and couples psychotherapy utilizing evidence-based therapeutic models and techniques for population and problems served. Conceptualizes, develops, and presents detailed treatment plans for the cases served and documents treatment plans in the electronic health record and/or the Mental Health Suite. Provides consultation to other behavioral health staff professionals and peers in attempt to promote and preserve therapeutic environment for individual patients. Evaluates and adjusts treatment as necessary and continually monitors patient's progress through qualitative means and Measurement-Based Care. Work Schedule: Monday - Tuesday 8:00am - 4:30pm and Wednesday - Friday 9:30am - 6:00pm. (Note: Work Schedules are determined and approved by the supervisor. The incumbent may be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis based on facility/patient care needs). Compressed/Flexible: Not available. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Staff Psychologist, FS #'s 62268F, 62269F and 66270F. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Additional Benefits 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). Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of either 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."]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.