Staff Psychologist-Home Based Primary Care

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Duties

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The duties and responsibilities are to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions. Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities.

The VA Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services in the homes of veterans with complex and chronic, disabling disease. In addition to primary care interventions, HBPC provides palliative care, rehabilitation, disease management, and care coordination services. HBPC targets veterans in advanced stages of chronic disease, particularly those at high risk of recurrent hospitalization or nursing home placement.

• Provide screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depressive and anxiety-related disorders, as well as other Axis I conditions, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.
• Assess and provide treatments for sub-clinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, & excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the patient may have a lower than normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication).
• Provide psychological prevention services to patients at significant risk for psychological problems.
• Provide services to the families of veterans with dementia being served by HBPC, when such care is directly related to the overall treatment plan for the veteran and will allow better care for the veteran and allow the family to sustain the veteran in the home environment. For example, family members may be trained to better manage behavioral problems associated with dementia; such training may allow the HBPC team to reduce use of psychoactive medication as a means of controlling behavioral problems.
• Provide clinical services through the use of telemental health/telehome technology.
• Provide screening for cognitive deficits to address specific functional questions or to determine if a referral for a complete neuropsychological evaluation or dementia assessment is needed;
• Perform capacity/competency assessments when there are questions about a patient's ability to makemedical decisions, perform other specific functions, or live independently.
• Assess patients' understanding of advanced directives and other forms of consent and assisting staff in determining how to present treatment options and other such material to patients in a format they can understand.
• Provide individual and group interventions to support patients that are coping with feelings of grief and loss associated with disability and other life transitions.
• Provide psychoeducational and supportive interventions, in conjunction with the veteran, for spouses, family members/caregivers, and others that are crucial to keeping the veteran at home.
• Facilitate transition and adjustment to new living situations (e.g., nursing home, assisted living facility), and providing seamless intervention services, as appropriate. Provide behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance.
• Promote communication/interactions between medical team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process.
• Provides clinical supervision to Psychology Postdoctoral Fellows, interns and practicum students training in HBPC clinic.
• Actively involved in the Psychology Training Program and is a member of the Training Committee.
• Involved in the training of medical students, psychiatric residents, and nursing students who train in the HBPC clinic.
• Participates in the monitoring of performance measures that pertain to Outpatient Mental Health Services, HBPC, and Med Psych Services.
• Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by Mental Health Services and the VASLCHCS.
• Participates in program-wide outcome evaluation studies.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm.

Telework: Not Available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 56039A,56040A,56041A.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact ,[redacted] the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements

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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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred & 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.

English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken & written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

Education AND Internship: 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. 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 & 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.

~AND~

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 & 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~

Completion of an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible 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 & 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a 1-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 1 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 supervision of a licensed psychologist. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

Drivers License: A valid state drivers license is required as this position requires local travel to provide community-based care to Veterans through the use of a government vehicle or other individual arrangements.

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:

GS-11 Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS-12 Experience: At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the 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.

~AND~

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of & ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
• Ability to design & 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 & research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, & collaboration.

GS-13 Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12.

~AND~

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