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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. 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. 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: Candidates must be proficient in spoken & written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education: 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. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology) 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; AND the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed & 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 & 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.) OR Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 & 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, & unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. 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 Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. The board certificate must be current & the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS-11 (Entry Level): Experience: None beyond the basic requirements GS-12 (Developmental Level): Experience: At least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist but with less intense supervision than at the GS-11 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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 (Full Performance Level): Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. KSAs: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the 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. Preferred Experience: Experience providing health behavior services Experience providing clinical education References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 PART II APPENDIX G18 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. Physical Requirements: Ability to read computer, documents etc.... See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["Total Rewards : 2023 VHA Total Rewards of a Psychology Career FY2023.pdf Incumbent serves as the Health Behavior Program Coordinator at the GS-11, GS-12 or GS-13 grade, depending on what you qualify for. The Psychologist provides direct patient care, teaching/training services, and program evaluation/outcomes services. Incumbent is administratively responsible for the program and effectively develops and implements health behavior interventions for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management (e.g., weight loss and management, tobacco use cessation, encouraging alcohol use in moderation by teaching healthy habits and techniques, diabetic teaching, stress management, promoting patient self-management interventions targeting issues such as increasing participation in regular exercise, healthy eating, sleep hygiene). The incumbent serves as the facility's LGBTQ+ Clinical Coordinator and is a resource to Veterans, management, and employees, supporting the implementation of national policies related to LGBTQ+ Veteran health at AVAHCS to ensure consistent and timely access to culturally competent care for LGBTQ+ Veterans Functions or Scope of Assigned Duties include but are not limited to: Clinical Responsibilities (50% of time) Conducts Plans, develops, adapts, implements, and assesses efficacy of health behavior interventions for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management (e.g., weight loss and maintenance, tobacco use cessation, promoting patient self-management interventions targeting issues such as increasing participation in regular exercise, healthy eating, sleep hygiene) in close collaboration with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Manager and others. Serves as the lead clinician in tobacco use cessation programs. Contributes to behavioral health programs such as MOVE! Performs specialty health psychology assessment/intervention (e.g., pre-bariatric surgery, MOVE! patients with behavioral issues, patients with unique or complex problems impacting their health promotion/disease prevention self-management plans). Provides supervision of trainees conducting direct clinical care. 6. Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues Serves as REACH VET primary care liaison. Facilitate LGBTQ+ workgroups and focus groups for both employees and veterans. Administrative/Training (50% time) Provides consultation and training to Primary Care and Mental Health Product Line staff in the enhancing, maintaining, and supporting health behavior program for the promotion of health and prevention of disease and enhance patient self management of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, HIV, Hepatitis, COPD) to prevent secondary complications and improve long-term outcomes and enhance quality of life Contributes to training of primary care teams and others in evidence-based methodologies to effectively communicate with, motivate, coach, and support patients in being aware of relevant health risks Assists patients in clarifying personal goals for health promotion and disease prevention programs and develops individualized patient self-management plans. Works with Primary Care and Nursing leadership to provide specific training, guidance, and mentoring of Primary Care Nurses and others to facilitate effective coaching (i.e., healthy lifestyle coaching to support patient self-management). Develops programs together with other Health Promotion/Disease Prevention, Tobacco Use Cessation, and Patient Health Education staff members for teaching and/or improving the PCP's core behavioral health skills. Oversees the establishment of program monitors, evaluating outcomes and other local data source measurements to ensure clinical performance and other outcomes follow best practice guidelines, using a data-driven quality assurance process. Monitors and establishes procedures to contribute to the improvement of preventive health outcomes for patients. Assumes responsibility for developing and implementing procedures so structural and process requirements stipulated by VACO for the Health Promotion/Preventive Medicine programs are satisfied. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Patricia Wilson - patricia.wilson2@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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