Licensed Psychiatrist

AvaMed Workforce • Tehachapi, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

AvaMed Workforce, a healthcare staffing agency serving California State Correctional Facilities, is seeking a Psychiatrist for a full-time assignment at a correctional facility in Tehachapi, California. The position is 40 hours per week, arranged as four 10-hour shifts, Wednesday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Orientation lasts one week, and flexibility is required. The listed rate is $270 per hour. An active California Psychiatrist License is required.

Under the clinical direction of the Chief Psychiatrist, Senior Psychiatrist, or designee, and the administrative direction of the Chief of Mental Health, the Psychiatrist provides psychiatric services to mentally ill inmates or wards, or works in a review, evaluation, or consultative capacity. Duties may be performed in state correctional institutions or facilities, headquarters, or field offices. The role includes direct patient care, psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, treatment planning and monitoring, medication management, consultation, clinical documentation, and collaboration with other healthcare providers.

Requirements

• Active California Psychiatrist License.
• Ability to provide face-to-face clinical interviews at cell fronts in inmate housing units.
• Ability to climb stairs and walk long distances in some institutions with multi-tiered housing units.
• Ability to be flexible during the one-week orientation.
• Ability to serve periodically for on-call or call-back coverage during weekends and off-hours.

Responsibilities

• Meet with mentally ill patient-inmates or youths for crisis interventions and face-to-face interviews, including interviews at cell fronts in housing units.
• Conduct initial mental health evaluations, including criminal, psychiatric, and substance abuse histories, and recommend treatment based on current needs.
• Conduct suicide risk evaluations using clinical reviews, assessment protocols, relevant chart data, documentation, and consultation as needed.
• Participate in Interdisciplinary Treatment Team (IDTT) meetings and document care, face-to-face contacts, and meetings.
• Monitor patient progress using Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan and Education (SOAPE) formatted progress notes.
• Apply community standards of practice for psychiatric treatment and ethical standards.
• Perform mental status examinations during face-to-face clinical interviews.
• Identify signs and symptoms of medical and psychological disorders to diagnose, assess, and manage presenting symptoms.
• Review mental health records, institutional chronos, probation reports, court records, and other documents to support diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Review and diagnose psychiatric patients of all ages and examine program records to assess progress and the effectiveness or appropriateness of treatment.
• Consult with a supervising psychiatrist or present cases at clinical conferences when cases are unusual, complex, or serious.
• Provide clinical consultation to psychiatric staff on unusual, complex, or serious cases requiring technical expertise.
• Prescribe medication as appropriate, using the CDCR Correctional Formulary or obtaining non-formulary approval when needed.
• Interpret laboratory results and make appropriate clinical referrals to medical services.
• Determine psychiatric and general medical treatment needs and prescribe treatment changes when indicated.
• Follow mandated reporting requirements, including those concerning child or elder abuse, danger to self or others, Tarasoff duty-to-warn reporting, and confidentiality mandates.
• Develop therapeutic relationships with patients’ families and caretakers to support effective treatment delivery.
• Consult with primary care medicine regarding co-occurring, co-morbid, and treatment-related medical conditions.
• Make clinical rounds and review patient progress, including assessments in housing units.
• Periodically serve as psychiatrist-of-the-day for on-call or call-back coverage during weekends and off-hours for emergencies, Mental Health Crisis Beds follow-up, and five-day follow-ups.
• Administer psychiatric treatment with assistance from other healthcare providers as necessary.
• Maintain order and supervise the conduct of persons committed to the correctional facility to help prevent escapes and injury to themselves or others.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed