Staff Psychologist (PCMHI) - EDRP Approved, Rec/Relo Incentive may be offered.

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. 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.

Duties

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The PCMHI Psychologist functions within fast-paced primary care teams and can expect to consult with 8-10 patients per day with the primary goals of assisting PACT members with identification, treatment, and management of mental health and behavioral medicine conditions in the enrolled population. Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist.

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 PCMHI Psychologist:

• May have limited responsibilities for and oversight of the administrative and programmatic resources of various clinical programs within the VATVCBHCS.
• May assist in coordinating programming within the various mental health programs with psychology Program Managers as well as with discipline supervisors of affected staff assigned to these programs

Duties are continued in the Education Section.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus):

A Recruitment or Relocation incentive may be offered at the discretion of the Hiring Manager to highly qualified candidate. Incentives are considered on a case by case basis. Incentives must be approved by the Medical Center Director or designee before being offered to individual candidates. The incentive must be approved, and an incentive agreement must be signed before Entry on Duty (EOD).

Recruitment Incentives. Recruitment incentives may be authorized to full-time, part time[,] or intermittent individuals in their first appointment as a Federal employee or to a newly appointed former Federal employee with at least a 90-day break in service

Relocation Incentives. Relocation incentives may be authorized to full-time Federal employees who must change worksite[s] and physically relocate to a different geographic area when the approving official determines that without the incentive, it would be difficult to fill the position with a high-quality candidate.

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator at [redacted] 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). This is at the discretion of the Supervisor and may not be offered until approved by the Facility Director or designee.

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: Ad/Hoc Telework is available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: GS-11: 53928-F, GS-12: 53929-F, GS-13: 53930-F

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.
• 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

VA HPT's pending the completion of education or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Applicants pending license requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate psychologist not to exceed 2 years at the GS-11 or 12 grade levels, depending on years of creditable experience.

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship: You must be a U.S. Citizen

English language proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English

• Education: To be qualified for a GS-0180 Psychologist you must possess 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, 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:(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. OR
• Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship Requirement - You 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,
• 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.
• Licensure: Candidates 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. 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 (a)(1)(D) 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.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

GS-11 (Entry Level) Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

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.

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.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's): In addition to the requirements listed above, candidates must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) listed below.

GS-11: None beyond basic requirements

GS-12:

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.

GS-13:

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.

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:

Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination.

Preferred Experience:

• Licensed within discipline
• Experience providing individual and group psychotherapy for a wide array of
• Diagnoses
• Experience as a therapist in the VA
• Experience in PCMHI and/or primary care setting

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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://o