Psychologist (Program Manager 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.

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:

• The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. § 7402
• To qualify for appointment as a psychologist in VHA - all applicants must meet the following: a
• Citizenship
• Be a citizen of the United States
• 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 - 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 employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] [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 (pre-1979) 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
• If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript - the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program
• c
• 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 (2) Loss of Credential
• A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation - which may result in termination of employment
• At the discretion of the appointing official - an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists
• Board Certification and Loss of Credential (1) Board Certification
• Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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
• The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education
• (2) Loss of Credential
• Once board certified - psychologist must maintain a full - valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment
• A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation - which may result in termination of employment
• At the discretion of the appointing official - an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• 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
• In addition to the basic requirements for employment - the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• Creditable Experience (1) Current Professional Psychology Practice
• To be creditable - psychological work experience can be obtained through paid or non-paid employment providing psychological work or through participating in a supervised postdoctoral psychology training program (i.e. - fellowship or residency)
• Psychological work experience must have occurred after the doctoral degree was obtained and must have required the use of knowledge - skills - abilities - and other characteristics associated with current professional psychology practice.

Duties

• The Program Manager/Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) is located at VA Boston Healthcare System (a large - multi-site - 1a facility) in the Mental Health Service
• The SP Team Lead supervises a team of Suicide Prevention Case Managers and Suicide Prevention Coordinators and implements suicide prevention strategies across the facility and within surrounding communities through education - monitoring - clinical care - outreach - and coordination activities
• The Suicide Prevention (SP) Psychologist Program Manager position is located in the Mental Health Service at VA Boston Healthcare System (1A facility)
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager facilitates implementation of local - regional - and national suicide prevention strategies through education - monitoring - and coordination activities across the medical center
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager provides direct supervision to 7 FTEE staff members - including 2.0 FTEE GS-11 Social Work Case Managers - 2.0 FTEE GS-12 Social Work Suicide Prevention Coordinators - 2.0 FTEE GS-12 Social Work Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinators - a .5 FTEE GS-13 Suicide Prevention Specialist/psychologist - and a .5 FTEE program support assistant
• The Suicide Prevention team covers all three major medical center campuses and all VABHS CBOCS
• It is a high profile and complex program that plays a central role in the annual VACO - VISN 1 - and VABHS strategic plans
• Under the leader's oversight - the team is responsible for implementing a vast array of policies and mandates - necessitating close communication and collaboration with service and hospital leaders within VABHS - and across VISN 1 and VACO
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager is responsible for coordinating with VABHS leadership on the implementation of VISN1 and VACO mandates related to suicide prevention clinical practice and the development of relevant local policies and procedures
• This includes monitoring a vast number of data dashboards on a routine basis and working with Quality Management and others to address appropriate clinical care - maximizing performance on metrics - and engage in continuous quality improvement
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager oversees the daily operations of the Suicide Prevention program including providing supervision to all SP team members - ensuring direct care services are provided to high-risk Veterans - providing education and training to VA and community stakeholders - ensuring timely responses to high-risk for suicide e-consults and Veterans Crisis Line consults - and completion of daily reporting/tracking
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager applies advanced professional diagnostic methods and evidence-based intervention strategies to a full range of Veteran problems
• The SP Psychologist Program Manager has advanced knowledge of psychiatric diagnosis - intervention - and behavioral health that qualifies him/her to provide advice and consultation to professionals representing a variety of disciplines
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: May be available 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 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: Available Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: F04522

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.

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