Lead Psychiatrist for Innovation in Psychiatric Care

DESC•Seattle, WA

just now

About The Position

We are hiring for a new role for a psychiatrist who is excited about working with a wonderful multidisciplinary behavioral health team, pushing the boundaries of what high-quality care for vulnerable populations can be, and engaging in continuous process improvement. The ideal candidate is someone who enjoys direct clinical work, and, in partnership with other medical and clinical leaders at DESC, will help us to explore how to implement under-used evidence-based practices in a manner that drives positive, measurable behavioral health outcomes. Enjoying the iterative process that comes with such a goal is a must. This position will have 0.8 FTE direct clinical time in-clinic and outreach-based (most with a longitudinal comprehensive outpatient behavioral health team and some focused more specifically on opioid use disorder care) and 0.2 FTE supporting care delivery design, implementing, support and evaluation. This role will partner closely with the DESC Agency Medical Director, the Outpatient Psychiatric Provider Supervisor, the Director of Nursing, the Senior Medical Leads for the Opioid Recovery and Care Access (ORCA) programs and Crisis Solutions Center (CSC), Medical Department Senior Operations Manager, and other senior leaders within the medical and clinical departments. As currently envisioned, this role will not have any supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

Active Washington State Department of Health license as a physician.
Registration with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Board certification in psychiatry, licensed in the State of Washington with the Department of Health in good standing.
Board certification in addiction medicine, or ability to obtain within 12 months of hire.
Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
Knowledge, skill, and proficiency in working with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Advanced knowledge and experience prescribing psychiatric medications
Be able to pass a Washington State Criminal background check.
Knowledge of harm reduction principles and strategies.
Ability and interest in providing case consultations with a multi-disciplinary staff.
Ability to remain open and receptive to constructive feedback.
Ability to communicate with and coordinate with staff from diverse backgrounds.
Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of psychiatric behaviors.
Interest in change management and process improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience with buprenorphine prescribing
Experience with clozapine prescribing and management
Experience in and strong skills in teaching and education
Experience working in atypical health care settings (e.g., street outreach, housing, day centers, jails, etc.)
Experience with process improvement and implementation of new ideas or interventions

Responsibilities

Coordinate client care within a multidisciplinary behavioral health team
Perform psychiatric evaluations, establish treatment plans collaboratively with clients, prescribe and monitor medications as indicated; this is inclusive of opioid use disorder treatment; all in context of a multidisciplinary team.
At times, provide care via field-based outreach to clients in shelters, permanent supportive housing buildings or other locations, as indicated
Participate in program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients as indicated
Take initiative to meet the changing needs of community behavioral health treatment.
Participate in verbal de-escalation in emergent situations and be able and willing to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe, secure environment.
Collaborate with senior medical and clinical leaders at DESC in designing systems-changes, trainings or workflows to allow for a greater use of underused psychiatric interventions.
Participate in routine leadership meetings
Engage with data and informatics team on building ways to measure and track meaningful metrics of care related to existing services and new innovations or care delivery changes
Engage with scholarly work opportunities if interested and as they arise