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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VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major duties for this position may include (but are not limited to):

• Providing a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including use of psychological testing for patients in Outpatient Services.
• Performs psychological evaluations for individuals with mental health and medical disorders for purposes of diagnostic clarification and treatment planning recommendations.
• Provides diagnoses of mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients to include a full range of psycho-diagnostic services.
• Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy.
• Provides education to patients, family members, significant others, and community members.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within the WJBD VA Health Care System and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients.
• Functions as a member of the Outpatient Mental Health Team with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete responsibility for all clinical findings, patient care decisions, and clinical documentation.
• May have limited clinical program management responsibilities including operation and management of various psychology or mental health programs.
• May serve as a representative for outpatient mental health programs.
• Collaborates with the program lead and begins to initiate an ongoing education plan for providers, Veterans, families, and members of the community on recovery model of care.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the Mental Health Service as established by service leadership.
• Assists with and begins to initiate ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
• Develops and begins to initiate professional, collegial relationships with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services.
• Complies with national and local performance measures.
• Provides training and teaching to all staff during New Employee Orientation on Recovery and Patient Focused Care initiatives.
• Provide training to staff on Recovery Model Implementation and Patient Focused Care initiatives to include electronic health record suite templates, safety plans, treatment plans, suicide risk reduction initiatives, and other high risk patient needs.

Performs other necessary duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM, EST

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [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).

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: Some AD-HOC ONLY telework options may be available at the discretion of the hiring service.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: GS11: 63034F; GS12: 63035F; GS13: 63036F

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;
• 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 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.

Language: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

Education: See the Education section of this Job Announcement.

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.
• Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.

Board Certification and Loss of Credential:

• Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
• Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.

Grandfathering Provision: All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

1. Employees grandfathered under this provision for this revision may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions or beyond the assignment currently held for those being grandfathered to assignments above FPL.]
2. Psychologists who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
3. Psychologists initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

• NOTE: If psychologists who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

GS11 Grade Requirements:

• Experience: None beyond the basic requirements.

GS12 Grade Requirements:

• 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.

GS13 Grade Requirements:

• 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:
  
  • 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.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS11 to GS13.

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary in nature and may require limited physical effort. Work is performed in a well-lit, temperature controlled office environment.

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).

Education

Education:

• Have a doctoral degree in