Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Staff Psychologist

Veterans Health Administration • Syracuse, NY

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Staff Psychologist provides functional assessment, triage, brief intervention, education, and consultation for a broad range of concerns in primary care. Consistent with the VA Whole Health philosophy, the psychologist promotes awareness of how mental and behavioral health contributes to wellness and overall health outcomes. The role uses a population-based care and public health approach, recognizes the primary care provider (PCP) as the overall leader of the treatment team, and seeks to extend services to as many Veterans as possible. The psychologist accepts referrals from PCPs and other Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members and supports guideline-concordant treatment within primary care.

This is a full-performance-level staff psychologist position. The psychologist is licensed to practice independently, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Staff psychologists may work in a variety of VHA programs and settings and may diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, provide treatment through a range of modalities, offer adjunctive interventions for medical disorders, consult with medical center staff, and participate in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research.

The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework is not authorized, and this is not a virtual position. Recruitment or relocation incentives and permanent change-of-station assistance are not authorized. The position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to individual eligibility and program approval; an application must be submitted within four months of appointment. The program office determines the award (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) after review.

Required qualifications include a qualifying doctoral degree in psychology, completion of a qualifying professional psychology internship, and a full, current, unrestricted doctoral-level psychology license in a U.S. jurisdiction. Candidates must also meet the GS-13 experience and competency requirements described in the announcement.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception for non-citizen appointments when qualified U.S. citizens cannot be recruited.
• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA-, PCSAS-, or CPA-accredited graduate program in a specialty area consistent with the assignment, or an eligible alternative doctoral/re-specialization pathway described in the announcement.
• Successful completion of a qualifying professional psychology internship, subject to the specified alternatives and exceptions in the announcement.
• Full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a U.S. State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, including at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and ability to apply professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation related to professional psychology and behavioral health.
• Knowledge of clinical research literature.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Meet applicable background/security investigation, drug-testing, pre-employment physical examination, onboarding, identification, influenza vaccination, and other stated employment conditions.
• Complete required application materials and, if seeking EDRP, meet individual eligibility requirements and submit the application within four months of appointment.
• Serve the required one- or two-year trial period, subject to the conditions described in the announcement.

Nice To Haves

• Experience providing direct patient care in an integrated health care setting.
• Experience or interest in working with Veterans and military populations.
• Experience or comfort working in a fast-paced environment involving frequent shifts between tasks, scheduled and unscheduled patients, primary care huddles, and consultation to primary care staff.
• Experience with or interest in learning brief, evidence-based interventions and brief documentation.

Responsibilities

• Provide functional assessment, triage, brief interventions, education, and consultation for a wide range of concerns in primary care.
• Promote awareness of mental and behavioral health factors that contribute to wellness and overall health outcomes.
• Use a population-based care and public health approach to maximize access to services for Veterans.
• Accept referrals from PCPs and allied PACT members and support guideline-concordant treatment within primary care.
• Participate in PACT huddles and meetings to foster collaborative team functioning and serve as a behavioral health subject matter expert.
• Educate PACT members about behavioral health and health behavior issues, effective patient communication, motivational enhancement, and behavior change.
• Integrate into the routine workflow of Primary Care and identify opportunities to provide expertise or direct patient care in support of team-based care.
• Remain flexible and available for interruptions and ad hoc team discussions, and accept and encourage same-day warm handoffs.
• Provide same-day verbal and/or written feedback to PCPs and other PACT members following referrals.
• Collaborate with PCMHI Health Technicians, Collaborative Care Managers, and providers with prescribing privileges to deliver high-quality, effective, Veteran-centered services at patient and program levels.
• As applicable to staff psychologist duties, diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, provide treatment and adjunctive interventions, consult with medical center staff, and participate in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program eligibility, subject to individual requirements and approval, with an award of up to $200,000 and an eligibility period of one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered for higher or unique qualifications or VA special needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, comprising 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Possible credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service experience.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment for eligible full-time employees with total family income below $144,000, covering up to 25% of eligible childcare costs, subject to a monthly maximum of $416.66 and other eligibility requirements.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree