Staff Psychologist - Neuropsychology And Rehabilitation Program

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. Learn more
This job is open to

• Federal employees - Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Federal employees - Excepted service
  Current excepted service federal employees.
• Internal to an agency
  Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency
This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be:
1st Area of Consideration - Current, Permanent Facility and CBOC employees
2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants
3rd Area of Consideration - Federal employees of other agencies
4th Area of Consideration - current/past/upcoming VHA HPT Graduates.
Videos
Duties
If you are not a current, permanent VA employee or Federal employee from another agency or a current/past/upcoming HPT Graduate, you should apply under CBST-12072405-23-SA.
The primary purpose of the position is to serve as a neuropsychologist within the Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Program housed within the Mental Health Service Careline. This is a direct patient care position which requires both general core psychology and neuropsychology privileges. The primary focus of is to conduct complex neuropsychological and psychological assessments and neurocognitive interventions related to a wide range of neurological, medical, and psychological disorders. There is also the potential for involvement in providing clinical supervision to Graduate Students, Interns, Fellows, and Residents and/or in conducting research.
Clinical Responsibilities: The Psychologist functions as a neuropsychology provider within the neuropsychology service of the MHS, providing assessment, treatment, management, and professional consultation services to Veterans and their families.
- Provides an advanced level of neuropsychological service to aid in differential diagnosis, treatment and disposition planning, education, and advocacy of Veterans with cognitive dysfunction.
- Utilizes a broad range of approaches to variously include diagnostic clinical interview, selection and use of evidenced-based procedures and evidence-informed approaches (reflecting motor, sensory, neurocognitive, intellectual, academic, and/or psychologic procedures) sensitive to brain-behavior relationships, dysfunction, and prediction of capabilities and capacities.
- Provides expert consultation to other disciplines on issues related to neurocognitive malingering, cognitive dysfunction, and biopsychosocial factors that can deleteriously impact cognition.
- Provides time limited, evidence based psychological services to patients experiencing psychological problems.
- Provides recommendations, interventions. rehabilitation, psychoeducation, and/or advocacy that targets Veteran's sensory or motor function Joss, pain, sleep problems, dietary and considerations, cognitive enhancement/deficit adaptation, day-to-day function, health, and adherence related factors related to cognitive dysfunction maintenance or abatement, psychological coping, somatization, and malingering.
Administration:
- Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization.
- Identifies patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals.
- Assures that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished.
- Fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards.
Education:
- Provide clinical supervision within area of expertise to Graduate Students, Interns, Fellows, and Residents.
- Provides and, where appropriate, refers patients, families, and significant others for counseling in health maintenance and disease prevention.
- Promotes patient independence and achievement of optimal health through appropriate psychosocial education and community referrals.
- Participates fully in educational development through staff and section meetings.
- Assumes responsibility for professional development by attending relevant training and regularly reviewing the literature to improve clinical competencies.
Research:
- Participates in research as appropriate through case finding and referral of patients to clinical investigators engaged in research or through participating in research studies.
- Applies new approaches to patient care through integration of approved investigative and research methods in clinical practice, basing interventions on evidence of effectiveness.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is a not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Mary.Lassiter@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation and drug screen.
• 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
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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education:
• (1) 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. OR (2) 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:(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. OR (3) 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 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.

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).
Preferred Experience: Two year postdoctoral neuropsychology fellowship, board eligible or currently board certified in clinical Neuropsychology American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) or American Board of Neuropsychology (ABN), passed psychology license board (EPPP), has experience providing neurocognitive, sensory- and motor, and psychologic assessment of Veterans, Active Duty, medically complex, neurologic, geriatric, and psychiatric populations.
Grade Determinations:
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level)
Experience: None above the basic requirements.
Staff 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 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate 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.
Staff 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 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 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.
References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
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 light ...