Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Clinical Psychologist - Assistant Professor or Associate Professor (Open Rank)

About the role

The Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, is seeking a candidate for a Faculty Appointment as a Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Clinical Psychologist. This position is being recruited at both the Associate Professor and the Assistant Professor levels. The Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (TACS) has an immediate opening for a Licensed Psychologist to join its posttrauma mental health care program at Froedtert Hospital, an Adult Level I Trauma Center. This is a full academic medicine position that integrates three missions: clinical care for injured and acute care surgery patients, teaching through clinical and research mentorship, and building an independent program of research.

Clinical care

The psychologists in TACS provide biopsychosocial assessment and treatment services for patients with traumatic injuries who are admitted to the trauma service or to the acute care surgery services. Services are provided both on the inpatient services and in an outpatient trauma psychology clinic. Furthermore, the TACS psychology team is part of a multidisciplinary team that provides post-discharge care to firearm and other violently injured patients, which has been recently extended to a formal Trauma Recovery Center Model. The clinical care in this division leads the national standard of care as well as innovative care models.

Teaching and mentorship

The TACS psychology program trains clinical and research fellows, residents, graduate students, medical students, and other trainees. This faculty member will provide clinical supervision on the inpatient and outpatient services and research mentorship to trainees, contributing to the division’s role in preparing the next generation of mental health, population health, and medical professionals to care for injured patients.

Research

The division is home to a strong trauma psychology research program, the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project (MTOP), a multi-institutional, NIH-funded research collaborative studying the mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after injury and early interventions to prevent them. The successful candidate will build a research agenda that complements and extends the work of MTOP and the broader research portfolio of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, with multiple opportunities to collaborate with psychologists, surgeons, data scientists, and investigators across the division and institution. This position is not specifically based in the division’s Milwaukee Trauma Recovery Center (MKE TRC), which provides evidence-based, culturally responsive mental health care for survivors of violence; however, there is the possibility of contributing to the work of the TRC based on the candidate’s interests.

Opportunity

• Full-time faculty position within the MCW Division of Trauma/Acute Care Surgery
• Provide inpatient and outpatient psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment for patients on the trauma and acute care surgery services
• Provide clinical supervision and research mentorship to clinical and research fellows, residents, graduate students, medical students, and other trainees
• Develop an independent, extramurally funded program of research that complements the Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project and research within Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
• Contribute to a patient-centered approach to delivery of care and engage in a climate of inquiry, quality, and safety
• Advance the academic, research and educational missions of the institution
• Opportunity to contribute to the clinical, training, or research work of the MKE TRC

Requirements

• PhD or PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology
• Experience supervising the clinical care of trainees and/or other mental health professionals while licensed as a psychologist
• Experience in evidence-based care for trauma related disorders and distress, including prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, etc.
• Experience providing culturally responsive care. Due to long-standing factors in Milwaukee, such as structural racism and discriminatory lending practices, there is non-random clustering of violence in communities where non-White residents live, and many of the injured patients served by TACS, including survivors of firearm violence, come from these communities
• Demonstrated research productivity commensurate with rank, or clear potential for it, and interest in developing an extramurally funded program of research related to traumatic injury, PTSD, depression, or recovery after injury
• Eligibility for licensure as a psychologist in Wisconsin

About the Medical College of Wisconsin

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is the state’s only private medical school and health sciences graduate school. MCW consists of a School of Medicine with campuses in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Central Wisconsin, a School of Graduate Studies, and a School of Pharmacy. MCW is a major national research center ranking in the top third of U.S. medical schools in NIH funding and is the second largest research institution in Wisconsin. Academic medicine is at the core of everything we do at MCW, bringing together scientists, clinicians, students and community members to solve the most complex challenges in health and society. Approximately 1,780 MCW physicians and approximately 905 advanced practice providers care for more than 484,000 patients of all ages annually at Froedtert Hospital, Zablocki VA Medical Center, Children’s Wisconsin, and many other hospitals and clinics throughout eastern Wisconsin, representing more than 5.1 million patient visits annually. The Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) campus houses Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Wisconsin, Curative Care Network, Versiti Blood Research Institute and the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, sharing a common mission of excellence in patient care, medical education, biomedical research and community service.

Values

All endeavors at MCW are driven by shared organizational values: acting in Caring ways – engaging in Collaborative efforts – approaching our world with Curiosity – advancing Inclusive practices – demonstrating Integrity in all we do – treating everyone with Respect. MCW is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that values diversity in backgrounds, experiences and perspectives through merit-based processes, and in alignment with all applicable laws.

Location

Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin, is located on Lake Michigan’s western shore. A metropolitan area with more than 1.6 million people, Milwaukee is an affordable, comfortable place to live, work, and play, big enough to be exciting and uncongested enough to get around easily. Neighborhoods accommodate a variety of lifestyles, from high-rise apartments to small farms. Downtown offers botanical gardens, lakefront museums, a theater district, professional sports (Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Brewers), bustling nightlife, and award-winning restaurants. The lake and its harbors are skirted by scenic parklands providing first-class recreation including hiking, cycling, and boating. A recent study ranked Milwaukee as the 15th most walkable of the 50 largest US cities.