Qualifications

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 - 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 are specialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program
• and b) 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.***See Education below 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
• Internship: 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
• Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above: GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement Staff psychologists at this level diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of 6 modalities, provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders, and may conduct research
• They may be assigned to any program area
• Psychologists who are not licensed must practice under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist
• GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• 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 Level: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or A full, current and unrestricted license
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• 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
• *Experience is only creditable for the Psychologist if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed
• Preferred Experience: Primary Care Mental Health experience and/or behavioral medicine experience
• The full performance level of this position if selected as Psychologist 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 Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc
• Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer
• This position may require occasional travel
• The position requires periods of walking, standing, sitting and bending.