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Now hiring a NeuroPsychologist to join our Lexington VA Mental Health team.
The Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a fully accredited, two-division, tertiary care medical center with an operating bed complement of 199 hospital beds. Acute medical, neurological, surgical and psychiatric inpatient services are provided Cooper Division - Clinical Addition Entrance at the Cooper Division, located adjacent to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Other available services include: emergency care, medical-surgical units, acute psychiatry, ICU, progressive care unit, (includes Cardiac Cath Lab) ambulatory surgery, OR/PACU, hemodialysis, medicine specialty clinics, surgery specialty clinics, and outpatient primary and specialty care.
Incentives
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. 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:
As a Licensed Provider for the Department of Veterans Affairs, you will practice independently in the provision of psychological services, engage in professional and scientific work which relates to behavior, capacities, personality, interests, emotions and mental disorders, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
  • Providing screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders. Including offering individual and group psychotherapy
  • If appropriately specialized, the psychologist will conduct neuropsychological evaluations such as assessments of intelligence, academic ability, attention, concentration, sensorimotor function, language, learning, and memory.
  • If appropriately specialized, the psychologist will assess and evaluate the symptoms of brain injuries or abnormal brain functioning, such as strokes, Alzheimer's disease or dimentia.
  • If appropriately specialized, the psychologist assessment of brain-based disorders will assist in identifying effects on a person's mood, behavior and ability to think. Additionally, make appropriate recommendations for effective treatments for individuals whose brain functioning has been diminished.
  • Coordinating treatment planning and delivery of services that best meet the needs of patients and are based on scientific research on optimal treatment
  • Promoting communication/interactions between team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the treatment process
  • Training and supervision of clinical staff /trainees, as appropriate
  • Participation in program evaluation efforts in conjunction with Office of Mental Health Services and the medical center
  • Teach didactic seminars to psychology interns students on an annual basis.
  • Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center.
  • Attend all staff meetings.
  • Functions independently as a member of the VAMC Medical Staff, with full clinical privileges. Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.
  • Other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Qualifications:
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.
  • English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.
  • Education Requirement - You 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. OR, have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
  • Internship Requirement - You 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 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). NOTE: 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.
  • Licensure: Candidates must 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. Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.
  • Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:
  • GS-11 Level: no additional experience beyond the basic requirement
  • GS-12 Level: at least 1 full year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the GS-11 level, and are able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and abilities:
  1. Knowledge of and ability to apply a wide range of professional psychological treatments or assessment methods to a variety of patient populations.
  2. Ability to design and implement effective treatment strategies.
  3. Ability to incorporate new clinical procedures.
  4. Ability to conduct research activities, such as designing and implementing clinical research projects (staff psychologists with specified research job duties).
  5. Ability to perform basic research tasks of scholarship and research execution within the context of an established research team, including research participant relations, research documentation, data acquisition, maintenance, and collaboration.
  • GS-13 Level: at least 2 addition years of experience, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level, as a professional psychologist that was obtained through employment as a psychologist or through participating in a supervised post-doctoral psychology training program that demonstrates 1) active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or 2) a full, current and unrestricted license. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics associated with current psychology practice:
  1. Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to a full range of patient populations.
  2. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
  3. Knowledge of clinical research literature.
*Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G0180 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting, light carrying, use of fingers, hearing (aid permitted), operation of a motor vehicle may be required

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-13.