Clinical Psychologist (Health Behavior Coordinator)

at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in North Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Summary This position Is located within the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) located at North Chicago, Illinois. The facility Health Behavior Coordinator (HBC) role is to collaborate with the Healthy Living Team and other clinicians to integrate evidence-based health behavior change, preventive care, and self-management support interventions into care. The HBC must have sufficient time allocated for administrative, clinical, and staff training responsibilities. Responsibilities The facility Health Behavior Coordinator (HBC) shall follow all guidelines in VHA Directive1120.02(1). The role is to collaborate with the Healthy Living Team and other clinicians to integrate evidence-based health behavior change, preventive care, and self-management support interventions into care. The HBC must have sufficient time allocated for administrative, clinical, and staff training responsibilities. Time devoted to direct clinical services shall not exceed 25% of total effort and must not infringe on the responsibilities within the governing VHA Directive. Serves as a subject matter for on health coaching, motivational interviewing (MI), patient self-management, and health behavior change; supporting the integration of health behavior change elements into clinical programming. Maintains awareness of and provides consultation on the evidence basis for health behavior interventions, to promote health and prevent disease, and effective coaching methods by facility staff. The incumbent will maintain awareness of current policy and clinical resources and utilize training opportunities provided by relevant VHA national program offices by monitoring program office web sites and policy publications, and consulting with relevant program office staff as needed relative to health behavior. These may include but are not limited to the VHA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the Office of Mental Health Services, and the Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards. In collaboration with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Program Manager (HDPD-PM), plans, develops, adapts, implements and assesses efficacy of health behavior interventions for the promotion of general health and to address health risk behaviors as part of disease prevention and chronic disease management (e.g., weight loss and maintenance, tobacco use cessation, promoting patient self-management interventions targeting issues such as increasing participation in regular exercise, healthy eating, sleep hygiene) in close collaboration with the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Manager and others. Collaborates with the MOVE! Coordinator to support program monitoring and improvements as needed. This includes providing TEACH and MI skills training and follow-up clinician coaching to MOVE! staff, serving as clinical consultant for weight management-related behavior change, and coaching MOVE! staff in group facilitation skills. Provides administrative duties including: a. Scheduling of Veterans and related issues. b. Returning Veterans’ phone calls. c. Report writing. d. Attending organizational meetings. Provides consultation and training to Primary Care and Mental Health Service Line staff in the enhancing, maintaining, and supporting health behavior program for the promotion of health and prevention of disease and enhance patient self-management of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, COPD) to prevent secondary complications and improve long­ term outcomes and enhance quality of life. This work is carried out through training programs and through case discussion. Collaboration ensures effective coordination of behavioral and mental health interventions as well as to develop and integrate behavioral interventions (e.g., pain, sleep, stress, biofeedback) that help Veterans in their efforts to adopt healthy behaviors and reduce risky behaviors. (Note: Biofeedback requires supplemental privileges.) Supervises pre-doctoral and post-doctoral Psychology trainees and may participate in the supervision of trainees in other disciplines, including medical, nursing, pharmacy, and psychiatric trainees assigned to the Primary Care Service for rotations. Provides limited HPDP-related clinical services, such as performing specialty health psychology assessment (e.g., pre-bariatric surgery, MOVE! patients with particular behavioral issues, patients with unique or complex problems impacting their health promotion/disease prevention self-management plans, pain management consultation). May represent the Health Care System at professional programs and/or events, or on VA or community committees or work groups addressing health promotion/preventive medicine or other areas of psychological practice or primary care, including where relevant to addressing issues of culturally competent services, and routinely participates in national VHA conference calls and audio conferences on these and other issues such as motivational interviewing and other behavioral interventions to promote health. Work Schedule: Full Time Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm CST Telework: Ad Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:0000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Basic Requirements: The following are the basic requirements and qualifications for appointment as a Psychologist. -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 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 Requirement – You must 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. OR, have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. -Internship Requirement – You must 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 boar