SummaryThis 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.
Learn more about this agencyDutiesHelp
VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
FUNCTIONS:
Clinical Responsibilities (up to 90% of time)- A. Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems and suicide assessment;
- B. Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on evidenced-based treatments
- C. Evidence-based treatments to be provided to Veterans individually or in group format with appropriate documentation and measurement of effectiveness and Veteran response using clinical judgment and standardized assessment instruments.
- D. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.
- E. Supervises trainees conducting direct clinical care.
- F. Provides administrative duties including: Scheduling of Veterans and related issues, returning Veterans' phone calls and secure messages, writing reports, attending organizational meetings.
- G. On-going professional training and experiences are an expectation of the position. This duty is met through workshops, intra-VA assignments, and distance learning.
- H. Occasionally, the employee will provide clinical coverage for an absent staff member, as deemed necessary by supervisor.
- I. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
- J. Complies with all electronic medical record documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
- K. Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for the Behavioral Health Service Line, Outpatient Behavioral Health Service (OBHS) Chief, BHIP Manager, and facility Director.
- L. Other collateral duties as assigned.
Academic/Teaching/Training (up to 15% of time, depending on supervision role and involvement as requested by the Training Director; to be negotiated between chief of discipline, supervisor, and Training Director)- A. Provides primary clinical supervision for unlicensed staff and/or students, which may include back-up clinical supervision in other rotations, as directed by Training Director.
- B. May provide group supervision to an Intern/trainee cohort, on an as-needed basis, as determined by the Training Director.
- C. Is involved in the development and on-going improvement of the Psychology Training Programs and actively participates in the Psychology Training Committee meetings.
- D. Attends regular meetings pertinent to Psychology Training, as directed by Psychology Training Director, Direct Supervisor, Chief of Outpatient Behavioral Health, and/or MH ACOS.
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 VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov,, 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: Available, Ad hoc per supervisor's approval.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
RequirementsHelp
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.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
QualificationsApplicants 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Basic Internship Requirement: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. § 7402. To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must meet the following:
- 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.
- 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.
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 the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
Staff Psychologist, GS-11 (Entry Level)- Experience. None beyond 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 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.
Staff Psychologist, GS-13 (Full Performance, Level)- Experience. At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year e...
