Psychiatrist - Geriatric

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 are ineligible to apply.

Responsibilities

• Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care primarily to geriatric veterans with mental health concerns.
• Performs psychiatric evaluations for geriatric patients and those with age-related illnesses that contribute to their psychiatric presentation, including dementia, depression, psychosis, and trauma-based symptoms who are mentally ill and have physical concerns, as well as psychosocial issues that may include homelessness, unemployment, and poor family support network, primarily within an outpatient psychiatry setting.
• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions to units/programs in the Medical Center to which the psychiatrist is assigned and has clinical privileges to practice including diagnostic assessment, medication evaluation and management, suicide risk assessments, crisis intervention, and overall care of patients with psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, substance abuse, and other psychiatric disorders in various clinical settings including the outpatient, inpatient, ED, and hospital ward settings across age, gender, and post-deployment combat status.
• Serves as a mental health team leader with responsibilities for coordinating consults and triage of specialty clinic referrals.
• Collaborates with multidisciplinary team members that enhances coordination of comprehensive patient care.
• Orders diagnostic tests and consultations, and discriminates between normal and abnormal findings and makes appropriate treatment decisions.
• Ensures that the practice of psychiatric medicine is consistent with Joint Commission, CARF, VA policies and procedures, clinical practice psychiatric guidelines, VISN standards, national statutes and regulations, medical record documentation, mandatory continuing education, and HIPAA policies.
• Participates in supervision and teaching in support of the psychiatric residency program, performs on call duties, and performs other directly related duties as assigned.
• Engages in performance improvement and quality assurance initiatives.
• Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staff.
• Supervises and teaches psychiatry residents and other trainees assigned to unit as appropriate.
• Timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, as appropriate.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship training. Board certified preferred; BE acceptable. Current fellows who will be board eligible upon completion of their program are welcome to apply.