Staff Psychologist - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive

Summary

The Fargo VA Health Care System is recruiting for 1 full-time Staff Psychologist. This position is responsible for delivering direct psychological services to Veterans enrolled in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) and addressing outpatient mental health needs through Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI). ***This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP).*** ***A recruitment/relocation incentive may be authorized for highly qualified candidates.***

Duties

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck This position is responsible for delivering direct psychological services to Veterans enrolled in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) and addressing outpatient mental health needs through Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI). The HBPC program offers comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services to Veterans with complex, chronic, and disabling diseases in their own homes. Beyond primary care interventions, the HBPC program provides palliative care, rehabilitation, disease management, and care coordination services to Veterans in advanced stages of chronic disease, especially those at high risk of recurrent hospitalization or nursing home placement. The psychologist serving in this role will deliver a wide range of psychological services. These activities will require travel and driving as part of the position's duties, ensuring that Veterans in various locations are reached efficiently. The PCMHI role operates as a member of multidisciplinary primary care teams, providing brief, consultation-based services to Veterans, primary care providers, and allied Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members. The role emphasizes general service delivery for a broad spectrum of concerns, aiming to resolve issues within the context of primary care. Behavioral health visits are designed to be brief (typically 30 minutes), limited in number (1-6 visits), and conducted within the primary care practice area. This structure ensures that Veterans perceive engagements with the behavioral health provider as a routine aspect of primary care services. The psychologist will work within the fast-paced environment of primary care teams, consulting with multiple Veterans daily. The primary goals are to assist PACT members with the identification, treatment, and management of mental health and behavioral medicine conditions within the enrolled population. As well as ensure that appropriate referrals to specialty programs and community resources are made. Provide a full range of psychological assessment services, ensuring the timely and accurate completion of assessments that demonstrate interpersonal competence and accuracy in rendering mental health diagnoses. Deliver comprehensive, evidence-based therapeutic interventions through both in-person and telehealth services. Provide therapeutic services through individual therapy, couples/family therapy, and psychoeducational groups. Develop treatment plans and set achievable treatment goals in collaboration with the patient. The treatment plan will be completed no later than the end of the patient's third visit for mental health services and updated as required by the Mental Health Integrated Care Community (MH ICC), or more frequently if there is a change in the patient's condition or needs. Evaluate service delivery and outcomes by consistently using measurement-based care to guide interventions and treatment. Conduct crisis screening and assessment, developing crisis management plans for the appropriate level of care. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, follow the protocol of the Mental Health Clinic at the VA Medical Center. Provide consultation to professional staff within the Fargo VA Healthcare System and to community providers regarding patient diagnosis and treatment, as well as the delivery of care. Offer formal or informal training for psychology trainees, including students, interns, and residents. Ensure that the practice of psychology is consistent with the professional practice standards and ethics of the American Psychological Association and with the established policies and procedures of the Psychology Service, Fargo VA, State Licensing Board, and the Veterans Health Administration. Position(s) listed under this Open Continuous Announcement (OCA) MAY be eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants selected for an EDRP-eligible posi…

Qualifications

Health Professional Trainee (HPT) 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. Education: 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 complete a re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the 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; (b) The specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND Internship: (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 (d) 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 (e) 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: 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 employ…

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. 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.