Clinical Psychologist - Program Manager

Summary
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.
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
ALL US CITIZENS
***If you ARE a current, permanent federal employee please apply to our internal announcement CBSU-11936850-23-CC***
Videos
Duties

• Provides psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care within the clinic setting.
• Demonstrates expertise in using and teaching others about contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for these disorders.
• Provides education to both patients and family members regarding relevant mental health concerns and psychological assessment findings.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation.
• Provides consultation to health care providers both in Mental Health and across other hospital services (both inpatient and outpatient) about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the Medical Center.
• Develops, implements, and documents the mental health treatment plan for assigned caseload of patients.
• Complies with all Service Line and WCHCS documentation requirements, including timely completion of prescribed templates for documenting results of assessment, treatment, and risk evaluation contacts.
• Adheres to all Facility and Service Line policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including but not limited to suicide risk reduction practices, timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and CPRS documentation conventions.
• Achieves minimal clinical workload expectations as established by the Service Line.
• Participates as a provider in the On Call system, responding to consultation in the Emergency Department and all other hospital wards, facilitates admission to inpatient mental health unit, conducts treatment rounds on inpatient unit on weekends, evenings and holidays, and provides mental health coverage to inpatient unit on weekends, evenings and holidays.
• Functions independently as a member of the WCVHCS Medical Staff with full clinical privileges. Psychologists at this grade additionally assume complete professional responsibility for their clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.
• Exercises a degree of autonomy in conducting clinical evaluations, treatment, and consultation appropriate to their grade level (GS-14) as defined above.
• Consults with their peers and the Chief, Mental Health Service as required and as needed.
• Reports to the Deputy Chief, Mental Health Service as the first line supervisor and ultimately to the Chief of MH, who assumes broad oversight responsibility for the structure and functioning of the program to which the psychologist is assigned.
• Acts as approving official for the psychologists, to ensure adherence to professional standards of the practice of psychology.
• Provides consultation regarding the performance of the psychologist (as needed), and has substantive input into the performance appraisal for all psychologists.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am- 4:30pm
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 57603O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Micaela.Gaytan@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications
***This is an open continuous announcement until September 29, 2023. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. ***
Basic Requirements:
United States Citizenship
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
Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, 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 respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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.
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:
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
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.
NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.
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.
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 and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
GS-14 Grade Determinations:
Experience
At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meets multiple deadlines.
2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.
3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.
4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.
5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.
6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.
7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.

Preferred Experience: Previous supervision and leadership experience and experience in evidence-based interventions.
References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 PART II APPENDIX G18.
Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor, as the position requires sitting, standing and walking. A high level of self-awareness is essential. Work, divided between office and clinical settings, is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items, such as books, files, or laptop computer.
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.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experienc...