Deputy Director of Psychiatry, Correctional Health Services

About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation. It comprises 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, and correctional health services. Serving over 1.4 million New Yorkers annually, the system operates in more than 70 locations across the city's five boroughs. With a workforce of over 42,000 employees, NYC Health + Hospitals focuses on empowering New Yorkers.

Work Shifts

Time: 8a-4:00p
Days: Mon - Fri
Facility: Trailer 1 facility on Rikers Island

Duties & Responsibilities

• Promote the highest possible quality of Psychiatric care for incarcerated patients through supervision and education of staff, participation in quality improvement and safety initiatives, development of workflows and policies, and management of psychiatric personnel.
• Collaborate with the Medical Director, Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists, and other Mental Health managers to assist in the design, implementation, ongoing review, and monitoring of relevant clinical procedures, policies, and operating manuals.
• Aid the Medical Director in clinical supervision of relevant psychiatric providers, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric physician assistants.
• Develop and utilize tools of clinical surveillance to ensure consistent high-quality psychiatric care by psychiatric providers across facilities.
• Develop and implement staff trainings and other educational measures to promote consistent performance and standards of clinical excellence among psychiatric staff.
• Aid the Medical Director in personnel management of clinical staff, including setting quality standards, establishing effective recruitment and retention strategies, monitoring and ensuring staff efficiency, and managing workforce complaints.
• When necessary, implement performance improvement plans and disciplinary action for staff, including assisting Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists with this process.
• Educate clinical staff about new developments regarding best practices in all aspects of psychiatric care, with specific attention to the challenges and issues facing jail settings (e.g., influence of legal case, dual loyalty, medication diversion).
• Ensure service-wide compliance with all regulatory standards.
• In collaboration with the Medical Director and Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists, recruit, interview, and assist in the hiring of new psychiatric prescribers and oversee their orientation.
• Communicate workflow changes and relevant policy changes to any affected psychiatric staff.
• In collaboration with the Medical Director, CHS Central Operations, and other psychiatric leadership, help manage: clinical schedules, vacation requests, CME activity requests, time-off requests, and other relevant activities as they pertain to psychiatric staff.
• Serve as a primary administrative liaison and representative for the Psychiatry service. Collaborate interdepartmentally as needed.
• Track and monitor on an ongoing basis the staffing needs of all facilities for the Psychiatry service, and ensure optimized staffing assignments.
• Daily collaboration with the Operations Department to ensure that all facilities are adequately staffed with psychiatric prescribers.
• Daily collaboration with facility Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists and psychiatric providers to ensure the timely completion of medication renewals.
• Review all non-formulary requests for facilities that do not have an active Supervising or Senior Psychiatrist and cover other related managerial duties for such.
• Assist the pharmacy with any prescribing errors/issues that arise if unable to be resolved by the primary provider.
• Oversee and coordinate the e-prescribing of medication for Mental Health patients being discharged to the community or to residential programs, and serve as a liaison between prescribers and discharge planners.
• Serve as a liaison between Rikers Island facilities to ensure clinical continuity and appropriate patient care and escalation as needed.
• Serve as a liaison between Rikers Island facilities and Bellevue/Elmhurst/other hospitals to assist in the transfer of patients requiring a higher level of care and their return to Rikers Island upon hospital discharge.
• Review documentation by psychiatric staff to ensure the consistent provision of high-quality care.
• Provide, as needed, direct clinical care and direct supervision of psychiatric trainees.
• Review the Uniform Notifications and Targeted Evaluations to assess the documentation of incidents involving patients engaging in self-injurious behaviors.
• Report on an as-needed basis to the CHS Morbidity and Mortality review committee.
• Participate in psychiatric provider meetings and didactics in collaboration with the Medical Director.
• On-call responsibilities, at intervals to be determined, for off-hours issues that require high level clinical or administrative intervention.

Minimum Qualifications

• Graduation from a medical school approved by the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association.
• Completion of an acceptable internship in an approved hospital.
• A license to practice medicine in the State of New York.
• Certification by American Board in field of specialization or a faculty appointment of Associate Professor or higher in a medical school recognized by the American Medical Association.
• Eight (8) years of satisfactory full-time paid experience in field of specialization including at least three (3) years in a supervisory or administrative capacity.

Department Preferences

• Strong interest in working with an underserved population, within a community health setting.
• Demonstrated history of problem-solving, creativity, and proactive leadership skills.
• Excellent diagnostic and treatment skills with particular attention to issues of psychopharmacology, safe administration of medication in a variety of settings, medical complications of mental illness, and therapeutic resistance.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with other disciplines, including DOC staff.
• Strong leadership skills with ability to identify staff needs and provide mentorship and education to suit those needs.

Benefits

NYC Health and Hospitals offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive Health Benefits for employees hired to work 20+ hrs. per week
• Retail Savings and Pension Plans
• Paid Holidays and Vacation in accordance with employees' Collectively bargained contracts
• Loan Forgiveness Programs for eligible employees
• College tuition discounts and professional development opportunities
• College Savings Program
• Union Benefits for eligible titles
• Multiple employee discounts programs
• Commuter Benefits Programs

How To Apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please apply online by clicking the "Apply for Job" button.