Clinical Psychologist

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.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

06/21/2024 to 07/01/2024

• Salary

$75,975 - $140,776 per year

The Boise VA Medical Center has also been approved for a Special Salary Rate (SSR) for psychologists.

• Pay scale & grade

GS 11 - 13

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Boise, ID 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy. Ad-Hoc.

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

13

• Job family (Series)

0180 Psychology

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

Yes

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Credentialing

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBSV-12454329-24-ASD

• Control number

796756400

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This job is open to

• The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

Past/Current/Upcoming VHA HPT Graduates and US Citizens

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Duties

The incumbent provides direct care to patients as a member of the PCT, focusing on the outpatient treatment of Veterans with PTSD and related diagnoses, providing psychological evaluation, individual and group psychotherapy, and interdisciplinary consultation, with evidence-based treatments emphasized (e.g., Cognitive Processing Therapy; Prolonged Exposure, etc.). In the PCT, the incumbent will specialize in the psychological treatment of female Veterans, specifically the treatment of trauma often experienced by women, such as military sexual trauma (MST) and intimate partner violence (IPV).

Additionally, the incumbent will provide psychological services as an embedded provider within the Women's Health Clinic (WHC) at the Boise VAMC. They will act as an expert consultant to the medical providers in that clinic on psychological factors associated with women's health issues and provide direct care to patients in that clinic (e.g., individual assessment and psychotherapy; group therapy, etc.).

In both the PCT and the WHC, the incumbent will create comprehensive treatment plans for assigned Veterans as part of an interdisciplinary treatment team, with the amount of time dedicated to each program depending on program needs.

This position is located within the Psychology Service under the Behavioral Health Department at the Boise VA Medical Center (VAMC), Boise, Idaho.

• Provides psychological assessment, conducting evaluations of psychological functioning based upon available data, clinical interview, psychological tests and instruments, and other structured techniques.

• Provides a full range of psychological interventions, to include group and individual psychotherapy, consistent with training and expertise, with an emphasis on evidenced-based interventions found to be effective with specific presenting problems.

• Complies with all medical record documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper check out procedures (e.g. entering diagnostic and procedure codes).

• Supports same-day access to mental health services for Veterans as deemed necessary by the service and/or program, in person, virtually (e.g., via VA Video Connect), or by telephone.

• Supports other treatment programs within the Behavioral Health Service as needed with a full range of psychological services.

• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.

• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees to assist in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding the Veterans they serve.

• May provide direct clinical supervision, training, and oversight to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure in psychology (e.g., psychology interns, psychology post-doctoral fellows).

• May present outcome data and research results at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings.

• May serve on service, medical center, VISN, and/or national committees or task forces related to assigned programs and/or duties.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday

• Friday, 0800- 1630

Telework: Ad-Hoc

Remote/Virtual: This is not a remote/virtual position.

EDRP Authorized: Eligible

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

• You may be required to serve a probationary period

• Subject to a background/security investigation

• Must be proficient in written and spoken English

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.

• English Language Proficiency Requirement

• Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.

• Education Requirement

• You 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. 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.

• 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). 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 (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.

Grade Determinations:

Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:

• GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement

• GS-12 Level: At least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level, and are able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

• 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.

• GS-13 Level: At least 2 additional years of experience, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level, as a professional psychologist that was obtained through employment as a psychologist or through participating in a supervised post-doctoral psychology training program that demonstrates 1) active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or 2) a full, current and unrestricted license. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics associated with current psychology practice:

• Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to a 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.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.