Physician (Psychiatry Section Chief)

About the role

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Responsibilities

Section Chief duties include but are not limited to the following: - Provide clinical and administrative coverage for Outpatient Mental Health - Be part of an on-call rotation of psychiatrists, which may include rounds on acute patients during weekends and holiday - Supervise psychiatry staff - Provide the general oversight of advanced clinical providers working in Mental Health - Provide clinical coverage of Inpatient Units and Outpatient Units, as necessary - Advice and counsel workers on work and administrative matters - Participate and coordinate Medical Center clinical committees, as required - Manage Psychiatry discipline-specific issues/concerns as appropriate to the authority delegated - Work with the other Mental Health supervisors to ensure that appropriate disposition services and meaningful therapeutic treatments are being offered throughout the department - Act in the absence of Mental Health Service Chief and serves on the management team of the Mental Health Service Line - Review and approval/disapproval of leave requests - Ensure that subordinates are trained and fully compliant with the provisions of safety regulations Additional duties include, but are not limited to: - Application of accepted protocols for assessment of the individual presenting for psychiatric care. Assessment may include gathering verbal and documented history, mental status examination and medical and laboratory evaluation - Diagnostic description or formulation to guide appropriate acute and secondary treatment interventions - Provision of psychiatric care according to privileges - Availability for emergency psychiatric interventions during on-call hours - Provide or assist residents and/or Advanced Clinical Providers in the process of evaluation and treatment of the psychiatric patient, and actively participate in corrective actions against untoward responses to psychiatric interventions - Evaluate the patient to assess changes in the physical and mental status. A progress note is written in the patient's chart. Notes also include the concurrence with notes written by the resident and attending notes as appropriate - Perform inpatient and outpatient psychiatry evaluations and treatment as the team leader - Participate in various hospital committees, departmental and hospital in-service programs, and education programs of the department and the hospital. They are also involved in continuous quality improvement through the peer review process - Initiate or participate in an ongoing research activity. Faculty appointments to affiliated medical schools are available, as teaching medical students, residents and other disciplines is essential - Regularly creates and maintains an environment that ensures confidentiality of privacy for patients - Promote teamwork by cooperating with and supporting staff, visitors and customers in achieving the hospitals mission

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 physician(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. Basic Requirements: - United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. - Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed. - Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. - Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: - Those approved by the accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; - One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; - Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the Physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences. - Exceptions: - Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. - In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action. Additional Requirement: Board Certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Physical Requirements: Must pass a pre-employment physical examination in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Education - Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are: - Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted. - Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.