Staff Psychologist - Primary Care Mental Health Integration

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

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional ***THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. CANDIDATES WILL BE REFERRED TO THE HIRING OFFICIAL EVERY WEEK UNTIL THE POSITION IS FILLED.*** Recruitment/Relocation incentives may be authorized to highly qualified candidates. Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems, chronic disease management, and suicide assessment. Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care setting, including but not limited to: CBT, CBT-Chronic Pain, CBT-Insomnia, Motivational Interviewing, and Problem Solving Training. Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues. Provides consultation services to support PCP decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships. Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate. Routinely conducts functional assessments and brief assessments and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate. Provides same day access. Ensures that all clinical work is documented accurately and in a timely fashion, consistent with the MHSL and facility expectations and policies. Participates fully in peer review and clinical pertinence review to ensure the quality of professional psychology services provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi- disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. If licensed, performs all clinical functions independently while providing guidance and/or supervision to others. If unlicensed, the individual practices under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist, and the supervised experience must meet the supervision standards for psychology licensure. All other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Kristina Hibbard - kristina.hibbard@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: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 09772F, 09773F, 09774F

Requirements

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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.