Psychologist (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Summary

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. Program 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.

Duties

The VA Hudson Valley Healthcare is recruiting for a full time Psychologist- Suicide Prevention Coordinator. The position is located in the Mental Health Care Line, at the Castle Point VA Medical Center. The VA Hudson Valley Health Care System offers a full range of acute and chronic care services for veterans residing in six adjacent counties, including, Dutchess, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Rockland and Sullivan serving over 400,000 Veterans. Services include, but are not limited to medicine, surgery, psychiatry, rehabilitative medicine, long term care, women's health, blind rehabilitation, mental health, substance abuse, PTSD, and services for the seriously mental ill and nursing home care. There are numerous specialty clinics and laboratories. VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The major duties and responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to: Oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts. Serve as facility subject matter expert (SME) and point of contact (POC) for matters related to suicide, including prevention, intervention, postvention efforts, education and outreach, and suicide behavior and death reporting. Provide general consultation to healthcare providers on available resources for suicidal individuals, as well as expertise and direction in the areas of system design to prevent deaths by suicide within the VA HVHCS catchment area. Collaborate with other SPCs and VA at-large to share best practices through multiple touch points; accurately documenting services rendered to improve the SPP overall; Serve on committees and workgroups as assigned at the local, regional, and/or national level related to suicide prevention and patient safety. Implements, monitors and tracks all applicable guidelines consisting of organizational vision, mission, and goals; established program policies, procedures, and objectives; clinical pathways, and national suicide prevention standards of care, performance, conduct, and ethical behavior, to guide intervention, choices and professional conduct. Incumbent maintains a high level of knowledge of local practices, current rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance provided from VHA, JCAHO, policies and procedures and current medical literature or has an awareness of how to access this information. Ensures adherence to policies and standards in an effective and timely manner. Collaborates on, develops, revises and enforces policies related to national and local suicide prevention efforts. Provide analysis and evaluation of clinical program and other data to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. Responds to referrals from staff members, the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), and other touch points to ensure that at-risk Veterans immediately receive care and services Collaborates with community organizations and partners to increase awareness of suicide prevention best practices and providing training to individuals who have contact with Veterans. Provides a full range of patient care interventions, including individual, family, and group therapy, as well as specialized interventions such as behavior management consultations and systems or environmental interventions. Presents informed reports or educates multi-disciplinary teams on the use of evidence bases interventions. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday: 08:00 - 16:30 EST Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 14798F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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: A. United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. B. 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. 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 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. 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. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were emplo