Clinical Psychologist

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 a complete review of the EDRP application.

• United States Citizenship:
  Be a citizen of the United States.
• Non‑citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with Chapter 3 – Section A – Paragraph 3.g.
• 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:
  
  Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program 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 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.
  
  The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re‑specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship.
• 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 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 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.
• Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice…