Duties

Summary

The Psychologist functions under Telehealth Service providing clinical psychological care both face to face and through virtual modalities including individual and group clinical video telehealth (CVT) clinics and VA Video Connect (VVC) clinics, as well as through the SCAN-ECHO interdisciplinary team modality.
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Responsibilities

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions in individual, couples, and group face to face, CVT, VVC clinics, and SCAN-ECHO clinics; and specialty medical clinics which include empirically validated treatments for anxiety and depression, behavioral pain management strategies (including various relaxation strategies, mindfulness, hypnosis), motivational enhancement interventions, couples/family interventions, substance abuse (alcohol, drugs), smoking cessation, weight loss, organ transplant evaluations, psychoeducational interventions and crisis interventions.
• Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment for a wide range of psychological and behavioral medicine issues for patients with acute and chronic medical conditions and disabilities.
• Collaborates with and provides consultations for the VISN 6 TelePrimary Care Hub programs, the SCAN-ECHO programs and for other clinicians and patients both face to face and virtually through CVT and VVC.
• Administers/scores or evaluates psychodiagnostic tests.
• Gathers objective psychodiagnostic information for clinical assessments/evaluations.
• Plans effective treatment and evaluates/adjusts treatment as necessary.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy in both face to face and telehealth settings.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within the Central Virginia VA Health Care System, other VA medical centers, and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Functions independently as a member of the VA Medical Center Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).

Administrative responsibilities:

• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment teams and for Telehealth Service.
• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings.
• Collaborates with the Telehealth Service team to develop goals, treatment planning processes and standard operating procedures.

Teaching/Training:

• May be involved with the training of graduate trainees in the Psychology training program, as assigned by his/her supervisor.
• Role would be to supervise pre-doctoral and/or post-doctoral Psychology trainees and serve as a consultant to trainees and assist in their formulations of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients.
• May be involved with teaching and training as part of the SCAN-ECHO interdisciplinary programs.
• May be involved with training other clinical and administrative staff including VISN 6 TelePrimary Care Hub or Spoke site staff in the utilization of CVT, VVC, and other virtual modalities in the care of patients.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Telework: Available
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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. NOTE: This applies to the past, current, and upcoming VA Health Professional Trainees (HPT) only. HPT is an individual appointed to temporary positions in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experiences to satisfy program or degree requirements or receiving VA Health Professional Scholarship Program. HPTs can be either VA-paid or Without Compensation (WOC).

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: Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Education Requirement -
• (1) Must 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, (2) have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a 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 you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are applying for; OR, (3) have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
Internship Requirement -
• (1) Must 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, (2) 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, (3) 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, (4)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, (5) 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 your official transcript, you 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. Applicants 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.

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 Determination:

GS-13 Experience: Applicants must have at least 2 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level to include experience diagnosing mental disorders, conducting psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treating mental disorders through a variety of modalities, providing adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may also include research. A two year post-doctoral fellowship or residency may substitute two years of specialized experience.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate 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.

NOTE: Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed. Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is considered to be creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18; Psychologist Qualification Standard

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is at the GS-13 grade level.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although physical effort will be required. Some lifting, bending and moving of videoconferencing or technical equipment for installation and troubleshooting is required. Occasionally climbs ladders to adjust overhead equipment and lifts or moves objects weighing up to forty pounds; occasionally lifts or moves heavier items with assistance from others. The incumbent must have the ability to stand and walk for prolonged periods of time to interact with the patients and other services.

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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

VA Form 10-2850c Application for Associated Health Occupations can be found at: https://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-2850c-fill.pdf .

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• OF-306
• VA Form 10-2850c. Application for Associated Health Occupations (See the Required Documents section of the job announcement for the link to the form)
• Proof of VHA Health Professional Trainee (HPT) e.g., SF-50, WOC Letter, HPSP Letter, TQCVL, etc. (If you do not submit HPT supporting document, your application may NOT be reviewed.)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled Veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.