Staff Psychologist - Primary Care Behavioral Health

Summary This Staff Psychologist position serves the Central Arkansas Veterans Heatlhcare System, Mental Health Service and conducts psychological assessments, diagnose mental disorders, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, provides adjunctive interventions for the treatment of medical disorders, and provides behavioral health consultation to providers on medical, mental health, and a variety of other patient care issues. Duties Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties of the Staff Psychologist include, but are not limited to: Conducts comprehensive psychological assessments and formulates diagnostic impressions using standardized and clinically appropriate methods Delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed psychotherapy for mental health, substance use, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns within granted clinical privileges Completes all required clinical documentation and charting in accordance with healthcare system timelines, quality standards, and accreditation requirements Provides clinical supervision to unlicensed staff and trainees, guidance and education to assigned staff in psychological service delivery Serves as a resource to other professional personnel by offering consultation regarding psychological services and treatment planning Offers education to patients, patients' family members, professional staff, and trainees on mental health conditions and treatment approaches Performs risk assessments for self-harm or harm to others and implements suicide prevention and crisis management procedures Functions as a contributing member of multidisciplinary medical and mental health teams in inpatient, outpatient, or specialty care settings Participates in performance improvement and quality assurance activities relevant to psychological services and assigned clinical programs Abides by the ethical principles addressed by psychology licensing boards Supports and/or participates in scientific activity May serve on internal and external committees May have administrative responsibilities of limited scope and complexity Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am-4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the service) Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized 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: Available, per supervisor discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: GS-11, 99256; GS-12, 99255; GS-13, 99253 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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: 1. United States Citizenship: Be a United States (U.S) citizen. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 2. English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 3. Education Requirement: 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, OR 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 am applying for; OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. 4. Internships: 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;

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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. 5. 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. 6. 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 Professio