Staff Psychologist Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

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

West Palm Beach is looking for a Staff Psychologist who will work within Mental Health & Behavioral Science Service and duties include working with and clinically supporting the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and Outpatient Clinics. This psychologist works within the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Clinic as a Co-located Collaborative Care (CCC) behavioral health consultant in Primary Care. Additional duties include but not limited to: Collaborate with PCPs and the interdisciplinary PACT to support high quality, effective, and coordinated service delivery at patient and programmatic levels. Maintain daily open access slots and encourages same-day warm handoffs within PACT. Complete most individual appointments (e.g. 75%) within 30 minutes. Use Measurement Based Care (MBC) in accordance with nationally recommended guidelines for PCMHI. Conduct initial functional assessments that are focused on the main reason(s) for referral and are less extensive than traditional mental health intake evaluations (e.g., 30 minutes vs. 60 or 90 minutes for traditional evaluation). Support Stepped-Care principles and assist with Collaborative Care Management to facilitate "on-time, on target" services to Veterans, matching the intensity of services with the level of clinical need. Refer Veterans with more severe or complex needs to the appropriate general or specialty mental health program. Provide time-limited, brief, evidence-based, individual or group interventions (e.g., approximately 1-6 sessions) for a broad range of behavioral health and health behavior concerns within the primary care setting. Utilize intermittent visits and flexible patient contact strategies to support brief but longitudinal PCMHI care as part of PACT. Ensure quality of care by successfully completing the national VA PCMHI Competency Training Program (or approved equivalent) and associated ongoing education modules. Write clear, concise notes that are optimized for collaboration within PACT based on the PCMHI CCC functional assessment and follow-up visit guidelines. Note document important elements for team collaboration (e.g., MBC, curbside consultation/team care discussion, liaison with specialty care providers) as appropriate. Notes are completed the same day or within documentation timeline required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate. Engage in PACT huddles and meetings to cultivate collaborative team functioning and serve as a subject matter expert for behavioral health considerations. Provide education to PACT on behavioral health and health behavior issues, as well as tips to promote effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change. Integrate self into routine workflow of Primary Care and seeks opportunities to offer expertise or direct patient care services to support team-based care. Routinely provides feedback (verbal and/or written) to PCP and other PACT members same day as referral. Collaborate with other team members in PCMHI (e.g., PCMHI Health Technicians, Collaborative Care Managers, and Providers with Prescribing Privileges) ensuring high quality, effective, Veteran-centered services at patient and programmatic levels. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Recruitment /Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for highly qualified candidates upon review and approval by management, available funding, and in accordance with agency policy. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [email protected], 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: Ad hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement # 40006F (GS-13), 41865F (GS-12), 41864F (GS-11) 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: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA policy. 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. 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; 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: 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 and 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 and 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 and 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