Staff Psychologist Home Based Primary Care

VA Careers - Psychologist: Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Staff Psychologist in this position is assigned to the BMNS Team within the Behavioral Health Service Line at the Truman VA with primary workload responsibility to Home Based Primary Care (HBPC). The Staff Psychologist assists the primary care provider (PCP) in managing the overall health of their enrolled population. The Staff Psychologists goals are to help improve recognition treatment and management of psychosocial/behavioral problems and conditions in the enrolled population. The incumbent provides consultation services to all HBPC patients referred by the primary care team. The person in this position will deliver brief consultation-based services to veterans in their home using an integrated care model. Specific duties include outpatient assessment & individual counseling addition to providing direct patient care the incumbent may have limited administrative responsibilities teaching/training responsibilities and program development/quality improvement responsibilities as described below.

Duties may include:

• Serves as an integral member of the HPBC team to provide accessible integrated biopsychosocial health care services to patients assigned within their PACT.
• Utilizes appropriate therapeutic techniques or combinations of techniques to provide Evidence-Based and Recovery-Oriented treatment to Veterans with complex mental health needs within outpatient and inpatient settings. The incumbent provides the full range of therapeutic interventions including cognitive assessment education individual and/or family psychotherapy and group psychotherapy to patients family members and significant others as clinically indicated.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within the Truman VA and to community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans for patients. The incumbent draws upon his/her knowledge of current research literature as well as patient-centered factors to determine recommendations.
• Functions independently as a member of the Truman VA Medical Staff with full clinical privileges. The Staff Psychologist assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings patient care decisions and documentation.
• Regularly attends and actively participates in BMNS Team meetings. Incumbent also attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Service Line Chief (or designee) and facility Director. The incumbent regularly attends Psychology Service staff meetings Medical Staff meetings and complies with Psychology Service peer review procedures. The incumbent may also participate in Behavioral Health and/or hospital committees or work groups as assigned.
• Remains aware of current research by attending professional conferences and by reading professional publications. The incumbent may also present his/her own findings or theories at such conferences and/or in professional publications.
• Incumbent is responsible to operate a government-owned/leased vehicle to properly carry out assigned duties. Incumbents must possess and maintain a valid unrestricted State drivers license have a safe driving record and demonstrate that they are medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in both spoken and written English.
• Education: Must possess one of the following:
• 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
• 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; AND
• Internships
  • 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 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 candidates doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicants 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: You 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.

1. Knowledge of and ability to apply professional psychological treatments to the 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.