Togus, Maine
Norfolk, Virginia
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Posted: 24-Oct-24
Location: Togus, Maine
Type: Full Time
Salary: $83,223 - $151,904
Categories:
Sector:
Internal Number: Togus 003
Our Behavioral Psychologists provide care in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit for the VA Maine Healthcare System (VAMHS). The Mental Health Service (MHS) provides care at the Togus campus, and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Services at Togus include: the Mental Health Clinic at the Togus campus which is our largest outpatient clinic; a locked inpatient unit; an Addiction Services program; an Integrated Primary Care (IPC) team; a Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) team; a psychology training program with interns and post-doctoral residents; and provision of Compensation and Pension mental health evaluations. VAMHS MHSL has an active "tele-mental health program". The MH Service is participating in collaborative research projects with other research sites, and we expect this research to increase. In collaboration with the VAMHS Associate Chief of Staff for Education, the MHS is involved in teaching medical students, psychiatry residents, social workers, interns, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors (LCPC), and other trainees.
Facility
The VA Maine Healthcare System provides outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.
We provide health care services at 10 locations serving Maine. Facilities include our Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, seven community-based outpatient clinics in Bangor, Calais, Lewiston, Lincoln, Portland, Presque Isle, Rumford, and two Access Clinics in Fort Kent and Houlton
The VA Maine Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA New England Healthcare System. We’re an innovative care center within the VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), which includes medical centers and clinics in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
At the Togus VA Medical Center, we conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.
Major research areas include: Moral Injury, Health Care System Resilience, Million Veterans Program, Post operative Opiate Use, Neuropsychological Function Testing, Whole Health Involvement and Medication Compliance.
Togus VA Medical Center is a general medicine and teaching hospital that provides a full range of health services for Veterans, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. We offer specialized training programs in advanced general dentistry, clinical psychology, and neuropsychology.
We maintain affiliations with 25 Colleges and Universities, including: University of New England College of Medicine, University of Maine School of Nursing, University of Southern Maine, New England College of Optometry, University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Husson University School of Pharmacy, Boston College, Boston University, Creighton University, Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Northern Lights Medical System, Nova Southeastern University, Pepperdine University, Southern and Central Maine Community Colleges, St. Johns University, Tufts University, University of Albany, University of Florida, University of Mississippi, University of Nebraska, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina, University of Rhode Island
VA Maine Healthcare System's Togus VA Medical Center (VAMC) is a Joint Commission accredited, complexity Level 1c facility in Augusta, Maine that serves over 42, 500 Veterans. Full-time community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) are located in Bangor, Calais, Lewiston, Lincoln, Portland, Presque Isle and Rumford. Part-time access clinics are located in Fort Kent and Houlton.
Togus VAMC is a 67-operating bed facility with general medical, surgical, intermediate and mental health beds, as well as a 100 beds including hospice, dementia, long-stay, and skilled. The oldest veterans' facility in the country, having opened in the fall of 1866, Togus is located five miles east of Augusta, the state capital. Togus campus encompasses 500+ acres of buildings and natural woodlands serving as natural habitats for Maine's wildlife. Additionally, the National Cemetery is located on the Togus campus.
The Togus VA Medical Center property was originally used as a summer resort called Togus Springs. Togus Springs was established in 1859 by Horace Beals, a wealthy granite merchant from Rockland, Maine. The name “Togus” comes from the Native American word Worromontogus, which means “mineral water.”
Togus Springs resort closed during the Civil War in 1863. The site was converted into a Veteran residential facility. The first Veteran was admitted on Nov. 10, 1866.
Essential Job Functions
- To serve as a consultant regarding the role and interaction of cognitive, personality, and psychological factors on various medical disorders.
- Health-specific assessments to include, but not limited to, pre-and-post surgery psychological assessments, psychological clearance exams for organ transplants, and psychological clearance exams for antiviral therapies and other assessments relative to debilitating injuries.
- The Psychologist will participate in the monthly or weekly committee/team meetings for the surgical/treatment candidates and follow up with those candidates or coordinate their care as needed or required. Provides a full range of psychological assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients.
- Program development and management of Psychology Program. The Health Psychologist will develop new and existing VHA health behavior programs, coordinate evaluations, and determine the efficacy of health promotion and disease prevention programs at the medical center.
Minimum Qualifications
To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed psychologist(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.
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:
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. 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.
Internship: In addition to one of the above, you must also meet the internship requirements to be found qualified for this position:
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.)
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: You must possess a current, permanent, full and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a state, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a territory of the United States. Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the 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. You MUST upload a copy of your Psychology license to be considered for this position unless you meet the exception.
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).NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.
Benefits
In addition to the honor of serving America’s Heroes, a career at VHA provides a robust total reward$ package and offers many benefits including:
Flexible work schedules and shifts, Low patient-provider ratios, Robust insurance coverage, The ability to work anywhere in the country with one active license, Stable employment with competitive salary and regular pay increases, 50 days annual paid time off (26 days paid annual leave, 13 days paid annual sick leave, 11 paid federal holidays) in addition to other leave options including paid parental leave, Generous education support programs, including loan repayment and reimbursement, Unprecedented federal retirement benefits including a traditional pension (5 years’ vesting) and a federal 401K (TSP) with up to 5% in employer contributions, VA’s Diversity, People & Culture.
Location
Located in central Maine, approximately 55 miles north of Portland, is Maine’s capital city, Augusta. Augusta was chartered as a city in 1849.Augusta is just over 58 Square miles, and borders the towns of Manchester, Sidney, Vassalboro, Windsor and Chelsea. The capital city is also the easternmost state capital in the United States. As of 2022, there were roughly 19,066 people and 8,565 households in Augusta. Although the city is the third-least populous state capital in the United States (after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota, there are lots of exciting things to explore throughout Augusta.
Minimum Qualifications
To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed psychologist(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.
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:
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. 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.
Internship: In addition to one of the above, you must also meet the internship requirements to be found qualified for this position:
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.)
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: You must possess a current, permanent, full and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a state, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a territory of the United States. Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the 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. You MUST upload a copy of your Psychology license to be considered for this position unless you meet the exception.
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).NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.
