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
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional This is an open continuous announcement until September 30, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. The Staff Psychologist is assigned to the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) team in General Mental Health (GMH) services of the Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks (VHSO). The BHIP team provides care to Veterans with a wide variety of mental health symptoms and uses a collaborative care model and a recovery framework to delivery evidence-based treatments to the eligible veteran population. Clinical care focuses on the implementation of Evidence Based Psychotherapy (EBP) as a primary intervention and using Measurement Based Care (MBC) to regularly assess treatment progress and outcomes. Clinical services include clinical assessment, differential diagnosis, utilization of MBC, team decision making for individualized treatment planning, as well as direct delivery of clinical services in individual, group, couples/family, and telehealth formats. The Clinical Psychologist will provide all services in accordance with relevant policies and VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines, with a strong emphasis on delivering EBPs whenever possible and clinically indicated. Duties will include but not limited to: Provides culturally sensitive clinical services for a wide range of mental disorders. This includes identification of at-risk patients and delivery of comprehensive risk assessments and safety planning. This also includes thorough and complete psychodiagnostic assessments of both their own patients and as a consultant to other clinicians. Provides education to patients, family members, and significant others. Provides comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy. Assumes a collaborative role with Veterans and other team members in developing and implementing recovery-oriented treatment plans. Functions on the BHIP team as a consultant, mentor, or other roles as appropriate to promote the team mission. Provides consultation to professional staff within the BHIP team, the CBOC, the Mental Health Service and the larger medical center, as well as to community providers when appropriate. Develops, implements, and documents the individualized treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients. Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of Clinical Reminders in the electronic medical record. Complies with all clinical documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures. Functions independently as a member of the VHSO's Mental Health Service staff with full clinical privileges. The incumbent assumes complete professional responsibility for their clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation. Complies with all measures necessary to maintain current practice capability, including all licensure and credentialing requirements. Performs other clinical duties as assigned by Program Manager, Deputy ACOS for MH, and/or ACOS for MH, provided they are clinically qualified to perform such duties. Work Schedule: Full-time, 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday-Friday, subject to change based on the needs of the service. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Jennifer.Isbell-Gross@va.gov, 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) 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 as determined by Agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 01295F/01296F/01297 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
Requirements
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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: 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. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
How you will be evaluated
Area of consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1st Area of Consideration - current permanent "Veterans Health Care Systems of the Ozarks" employees including satellites; 2nd Area of Consideration - current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees; 3rd Area of Consideration - current/past Health Professional Trainees (HPTs); and 4th Area of Consideration - all other applicants. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.