Staff Psychologist - Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI)

Summary

The incumbent serves as a full-time, staff psychologist in the Psychology Section within the VA Illiana Health Care System's Mental Health Service Line (VAIHCS MHSL). The incumbent provides direct care to Veteran patients and is co-located within primary care. Clinical services are provided as a member of multidisciplinary primary care teams and includes brief consultation-based services to veterans, primary care providers, and Patient Alliance Care Team (PACT) members.

Duties

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional ***THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. CANDIDATES WILL BE REFERRED TO THE HIRING OFFICIAL EVERY WEEK UNTIL THE POSITION IS FILLED.*** Position(s) listed under this Open Continuous Announcement (OCA) MAY be eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Applicants selected for an EDRP-eligible position will be notified in their conditional job offer. The selectee must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an 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 review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply. Recruitment/Relocation incentives may be authorized to highly qualified candidates. Provides a full range of diagnostic and evaluation services appropriate to the primary care setting, especially in the areas of general psychological evaluation of emotional and behavioral problems, chronic disease management, and suicide assessment. Provides a full range of psychological interventions consistent with training and expertise, with special emphasis on brief and evidenced-based interventions found to be effective in primary care setting, including but not limited to: CBT, CBT-Chronic Pain, CBT-Insomnia, Motivational Interviewing, and Problem Solving Training. Facilitates patient and family education appropriate to the primary care setting and the specific presenting mental or behavioral health issues. Provides consultation services to support PCP decision-making, building on PCP interventions and improving PCP-patient working relationships. Provides interventions with a focus on allowing patients to remain with their Primary Care Provider (PCP) for the full range of their health care needs to the extent that this is clinically appropriate. Routinely conducts functional assessments and brief assessments and will triage/refer to specialty care services as appropriate. Provides same day access. Ensures that all clinical work is documented accurately and in a timely fashion, consistent with the MHSL and facility expectations and policies. Participates fully in peer review and clinical pertinence review to ensure the quality of professional psychology services provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi- disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards. If licensed, performs all clinical functions independently while providing guidance and/or supervision to others. If unlicensed, the individual practices under the close supervision of a licensed psychologist, and the supervised experience must meet the supervision standards for psychology licensure. All other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Kristina Hibbard - [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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 #: 09772F, 09773F, 09774F

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: CITIZENSHIP: Must be a United States Citizen. ENGLISH: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English. 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. 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). (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR Must 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: Must provide transcripts and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED OR Must have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) INTERNSHIP: Must 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 consis