The incumbent serves as Psychologist Program Manager and as a staff psychologist in the El Paso VA Health Care System (EPVAHCS) Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. 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: (1) 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. OR (2) 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 (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND (4) Internships (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 (pre1979) 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. 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. English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. 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-14 Psychology Program Manager Experience: At least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines. 2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. 3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. 4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. 5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. 6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. 7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Psychologist program managers have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services that are important program components of the facility and that significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans. Programs include but are not limited to addiction, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), mental health compensation and pension examination (C&P) programs, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers, inpatient mental health, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, palliative care, neuropsychology, and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs; management of an off-campus site; psychology program oversight and coordination throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics as a psychology executive, typically at lower complexity facilities. Decisions made by the Program Manager affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. The type of program managed and scope of responsibility are critical aspects of the assignment at this level. Responsibilities include operation and management of key clinical, training, research, or administrative programs to include full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of those programs. Responsibility may include supervision of staff but is not required. Psychologist Program Managers are responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of high quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served and planning, and developing and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. They have oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. They develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes, and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis. Preferred Experience: At least 2 years' experience with an APA-accredited VA Psychology training program At least 2 years' experience providing clinical supervision to psychology trainees in official capacity Experience with Commission on Accreditation Standards and requirements Strong organizational and leadership skills References: VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18 dated February 7, 2018. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. ["The incumbent is assigned to Behavioral Health Services. In addition to administrative/managerial duties and providing direct patient care, this psychologist does have collateral teaching obligations and supervisory responsibilities as described below. Clinical Responsibilities: 1. Provides a full range of psychological assessment services, including the use of psychological testing and diagnostic interviews to complete evaluations and diagnoses of mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients. 2. Provides education to Veterans, family members, and significant others. 3. Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy. 4. Provides consultation to professional staff within EPVAHCS and to community providers, concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients. 5. Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders. 6. Functions independently as a member of the EPVAHCS Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. Administrative Responsibilities: 1. Has broad program management responsibilities for the Psychology Training Programs. These programs consist of an APA (American Psychological Association) accredited pre-doctoral internship program with three interns, a postdoctoral fellowship program, and the supervision and training of other unlicensed graduate staff psychologists in the entire Behavioral Health Service line. 2. Maintains oversight of administrative and programmatic resources of the Psychology Training Program which are highly specialized and complex. The trainees and clinical supervisors that participate in the programs significantly impact the delivery of health care service to Veterans in a wide range of settings across a large medical center. 3. Organizes, directs, administers and manages all aspects of the program including comprehensive planning, developing and implementing policies and procedures, determining needs of the program, overseeing the quality and quantity of training, and establishing program initiatives and direction with the limitation of available staff and budget. Some duties include: The national recruitment and selection process of interns and postdoctoral fellows. Maintaining a comprehensive evaluation system of these trainees that is consistent with APA guidelines. Incorporating feedback from trainees, supervisors, and other sources to continuously assess and improve the quality of the training programs. Developing program self-studies as needed to maintain national accreditation or to earn national accreditation. Orientation of trainees to the medical center, mental health services, and their respective training rotations/assignments. - Mentoring Interns, Postdoctoral fellow, and practicum trainees. Chairing monthly Training Committee Meeting. Chairing annually established Selection Committee meetings and recruitment/selection process for Psychology Internship Program and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. 4. Coordinates programming within the training program with managers of other programs in Behavioral Health, as well as with discipline supervisors of affected staff assigned to my program. 5. Manages the work of the program and its staff, ensuring that work is assigned in a systematic way that meets medical center and VA guidelines/standards. 6. Maintains administrative responsibility for three (full-time) interns and unlicensed graduate psychologists and broad programmatic responsibility directing the training activities of the 15 doctoral level psychologist clinical preceptors that participate in the program. 7. Program Evaluation: Administers and analyzes survey data of previous trainees for the purpose of evaluating the training program. 8. Program Evaluation: Administers and analyzes survey data from interns and postdoctoral fellow on each didactic presentation for the purpose of evaluating the didactic/training program. 9. Program Evaluation: Analyzes evaluations of trainees, evaluations of supervisors, evaluations of clinical rotations, and evaluations of the training program itself for the purpose of continually providing the most effective psychology internship program. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?Readying Warriors and Caring for Heroes! This position is located within Surgical Services at the CAPT James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, IL. The FHCC is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), and Department of Navy (DoN)/Department of Defense (DoD). It is larger than just a single facility, but rather it is a fully-integrated medical care facility with a single combined VA and Navy mission. The combined mission of the FHCC means active duty military and their family members, military retirees, and eligible veterans receive health care at this facility.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. Join the FHCC team of energetic, career-minded professionals! For additional information, click onhttp://www.lovell.fhcc.va.gov/index.asp.