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Veterans Health Administration is Hiring a Home-Based Primary Care Psychologist Near Tuscaloosa, AL

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 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). NOTE: 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.
• Experience: In additional 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:
    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 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:
    1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to a 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.

*Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: Position is primarily sedentary in a Medical Office setting.

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.

Responsibilities:

***This is an open continuous announcement. Certificates of eligible applicants will be issued as vacancies exist. Each location listed may or may not have a current vacant position.

This position functions in collaboration with Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC), with primary assignment to the Home-Based Primary Care Program (HBPC). The VA HBPC program provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services in the homes of veterans with complex and chronic, disabling disease. In addition to primary care interventions, HBPC provides palliative care, rehabilitation, disease management, and care coordination services. HBPC targets veterans in advanced stages of chronic disease, particularly those at high risk of recurrent hospitalization or nursing home placement.

Functions of HBPC Psychologist
Clinical:

• Provide screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.
• Assess and provide treatments for subclinical symptoms of dysphoria and anxiety, adjustment difficulties, and excessive use or misuse of alcohol or other drugs (for which the patient may have a lower than normal tolerance due to their medical conditions and the potential for negative interactions with prescribed medication).
• Provide psychological prevention services to patients at significant risk for psychological problems.
• Provide services to the families of veterans with dementia being served by HBPC, when such care is directly related to the overall treatment plan for the veteran and will allow better care for the veteran and allow the family to sustain the veteran in the home environment.
• Assess patients' understanding of advanced directives and other forms of consent and assist staff in determining how to present treatment options and other such material to patients in a format they can understand.
• Provide effective interventions with couples or families, when appropriate, to relieve relationship difficulties, provide support to caregivers of veterans with dementia or other significant frailty, and/or promote collaboration with the HBPC team, for the benefit of the veteran.
• Facilitate transition and adjustment to new living situations (e.g., nursing home, assisted living facility) and provide seamless intervention services, as appropriate.
• Provide behavioral medicine interventions to manage pain, disability, address sleep problems, facilitate weight loss, promote smoking cessation, and enhance medical compliance.
• Promote communication/interactions between medical team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the medical treatment process.
• Identify patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and make appropriate referrals.
• Ensure that appropriate referrals to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished.

Administrative:

• Participate in peer review processes, assessing the quality of professional psychology standards provided in the organization.
• Participate on decision-making committees at the Medical Center.

Teaching/Training/Education:

• May provide clinical supervision and teaching to students, interns, and residents.
• Participate fully in educational development through staff and section meetings.
• Assume responsibility for professional development by completing relevant training and regularly reviewing the literature to improve clinical competencies.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: May be available at Supervisor's discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Job Summary