New VA hiring campaign?

[erg923]

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I got this in an email from the Yahoo newpsychlist. Anyone now anything about it? JeyRo? VAneurodoc? Is this going to be largely doctoral staff, or masters level?

"The Department of Veteran Affairs' is launching an intensive campaign to hire 2,000 mental health professionals to help care for our nation's Veterans. To spread the word of the hiring initiative, VA Carrers (@vacareers) will host a live Twitter chat with mental health professionals on Thursday, March 21, at 1:00 PM EST. VA representatives will be online to talk about the great need for psychiatrists and psychologists at VA, the application process, and the rewarding benefits of serving our nation's Veterans. The chat will use the hashtag #WorkatVA"

 

[ClinPsychEnthus]

I got this in an email from the Yahoo newpsychlist. Anyone now anything about it? JeyRo? VAneurodoc? Is this going to be largely doctoral staff, or masters level?

"The Department of Veteran Affairs' is launching an intensive campaign to hire 2,000 mental health professionals to help care for our nation's Veterans. To spread the word of the hiring initiative, VA Carrers (@vacareers) will host a live Twitter chat with mental health professionals on Thursday, March 21, at 1:00 PM EST. VA representatives will be online to talk about the great need for psychiatrists and psychologists at VA, the application process, and the rewarding benefits of serving our nation's Veterans. The chat will use the hashtag #WorkatVA"

I have seen several advertisements for this, and am honestly really hoping that this campaign is still going on as I graduate, pursue post-doc and employment.

 

[JeyRo]

I got this in an email from the Yahoo newpsychlist. Anyone now anything about it? JeyRo? VAneurodoc? Is this going to be largely doctoral staff, or masters level?

"The Department of Veteran Affairs' is launching an intensive campaign to hire 2,000 mental health professionals to help care for our nation's Veterans. To spread the word of the hiring initiative, VA Carrers (@vacareers) will host a live Twitter chat with mental health professionals on Thursday, March 21, at 1:00 PM EST. VA representatives will be online to talk about the great need for psychiatrists and psychologists at VA, the application process, and the rewarding benefits of serving our nation's Veterans. The chat will use the hashtag #WorkatVA"

Yah, I haven't heard anything, however, to be fair, I haven't really had my ear to the ground on this one lately.

 

[blueslily]

I believe this campaign has been going on for over a year. And, yes, there are more masters level positions than doctorate. You'll see reference to this on job postings on USAjobs.gov for mental health professionals as well as the VA job website. There are banners for mental health providers.

Good luck. I'm interested as well.

 

[VAneurodoc]

I got this in an email from the Yahoo newpsychlist. Anyone now anything about it? JeyRo? VAneurodoc? Is this going to be largely doctoral staff, or masters level?

"The Department of Veteran Affairs' is launching an intensive campaign to hire 2,000 mental health professionals to help care for our nation's Veterans. To spread the word of the hiring initiative, VA Carrers (@vacareers) will host a live Twitter chat with mental health professionals on Thursday, March 21, at 1:00 PM EST. VA representatives will be online to talk about the great need for psychiatrists and psychologists at VA, the application process, and the rewarding benefits of serving our nation's Veterans. The chat will use the hashtag #WorkatVA"

My understanding was that things were expected to slow down, although VA recently approved masters level counselors for hiring. I have not heard about this recent campaign, but if I hear anything I will update this thread for anyone interested.

 

[Pragma]

Curious how they could specify "psychiatrists and psychologists" based on need in a formal announcement and then turn around and hire master's level people.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I can say that I've been receiving emailed job listings on an almost-daily basis for psychologist positions that've been opening up (which is like a cruel teaser, given that I still have 1.5 years left on my postdoc). I'm not sure if any of these spots were created via the process erg mentioned, but I'd imagine at least a few have been.

That's the first time that I've seen psychologists and psychiatrists singled out specifically, though. The last notice (that came out last year, as another user mentioned, and spoke to I think 1300 or 1400 new spots being created) explicitly also mentioned masters-level practitioners.

 

[erg923]

I can say that I've been receiving emailed job listings on an almost-daily basis for psychologist positions that've been opening up (which is like a cruel teaser, given that I still have 1.5 years left on my postdoc). I'm not sure if any of these spots were created via the process erg mentioned, but I'd imagine at least a few have been

.

From USAjobs? I am subscribed to that email alert too, but get very little. My search is limited to two states though.

 

[blueslily]

I can say that I've been receiving emailed job listings on an almost-daily basis for psychologist positions that've been opening up.

I'm also interested in knowing which email listserv has these postings coming out on an almost daily basis.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

They're mostly sent out by one of our training directors, as well as a few other psychologists at the hospital. I'm not sure how many end up on USAJobs, although I'd imagine they all do at some point. Although yes, these are nationwide, so limiting things to a handful of states would likely significantly limit the amount of postings seen (only one or two would have been in my geographic area of interest, for example).

And thinking back, the near-daily comment may have been a bit on the high end as far as estimtes go. I do generally receive multiple emails per week, though. Then again, some could be re-posts for the same positions, as I don't read through them very thoroughly right now.

 

[bmedclinic]

let me know if they decide to hire psychologists that ended up not doing APA approved internships... #notgonnahappen

 

[JeyRo]

let me know if they decide to hire psychologists that ended up not doing APA approved internships... #notgonnahappen

It struck me as being a bit ironic - on the one hand the VA insists on APA accredited training for their psychologists and may even start insisting their practitioners complete accredited postdocs at some point (IIRC).... but now they're starting to hire MFCs and MFTs for positions previously held by psychologists. It's a race to the top for quality for their psychologists and seems like the beginning of a race to the bottom for all other mental health positions.

 

[blueslily]

Twitter Conversation Today

Hey, did anyone participate in the Twitter discussion earlier today. Silly me, I was planning to participate and even was watching my schedule to make sure it was doable. BUT, I totally converted the time difference wrong...I converted the time difference backwards. That's just silly and horrible. I really wanted to chat with recruiters for psych positions.

So, did anyone? What happened? Anything helpful that you're willing to share? if so, you can back channel me or email me directly. I'll totally appreciate it.

Thx.

 

[blueslily]

How can I get in touch with a VA recruiter for psychologists?

 

[edieb]

Those recruiters are near impossible to find or contact. However, there was one at the V.A. where I worked. His name is Sam Wainscott and his phone number is 915-238-2168

 

[blueslily]

Thanks!!


Sorry for all the questions, but I have a quick one. Anyone try to print the Application for Associated Health Occupations to sign it and then upload for attaching to your application? How do you print it so the text wraps in the box versus being cut off? if anyone has submitted apps for VA positions via USAJobs and doesn't mind answering a couple quick questions, will you please backchannel me. I will truly appreciate it. I just have a couple quick questions about submitting the app materials online.

Thx.