Licensed Psychiatrist

AvaMed Workforce • Chowchilla, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

AvaMed Workforce, a healthcare staffing agency serving California State Correctional Facilities, is urgently seeking a Psychiatrist for a full-time assignment at a correctional facility in Chowchilla, California. The assignment is 40 hours per week, arranged as four 10-hour shifts, Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Orientation lasts one week, and the schedule must be flexible during orientation. The stated rate is $140 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 directly to mentally ill inmates or wards, or performs review, evaluation, and consultation work. Duties may be performed at state correctional institutions or facilities, headquarters, or field offices. The role includes clinical evaluations and treatment, crisis and suicide-risk assessment, medication management, consultation with other clinicians, clinical documentation, and helping maintain safety and order in the correctional facility.

Requirements

• Active California Psychiatrist license.
• Ability to conduct 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 work a flexible schedule during the one-week orientation.

Responsibilities

• Meet with mentally ill patient-inmates or youths for crisis intervention 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, including clinical reviews, use of assessment protocols, chart and data review, documentation, and consultation as needed.
• Participate in Interdisciplinary Treatment Team (IDTT) meetings and document care, face-to-face contacts, and IDTT meetings.
• Monitor progress using Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan and Education (SOAPE) formatted progress notes.
• Apply community standards of practice for psychiatric treatment and applicable 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 available documents to inform diagnoses and treatment plans.
• Review and diagnose psychiatric patients of all ages and their records to assess progress, treatment effectiveness, and appropriateness of services.
• Consult with a supervising psychiatrist on unusual, complex, or serious cases, or present cases at clinical conferences.
• Provide clinical consultation to psychiatric staff on unusual, complex, or serious cases requiring technical expertise.
• Prescribe medication when appropriate, use the CDCR Correctional Formulary, and seek non-formulary approval when needed.
• Interpret laboratory results and make clinically appropriate referrals to medical services.
• Determine psychiatric and general medical treatment needs and prescribe treatment changes when indicated.
• Follow mandated reporting requirements, including requirements concerning child or elder abuse, danger to self or others, Tarasoff duty-to-warn reporting, and confidentiality.
• 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 conducting assessments in housing units.
• Periodically serve as psychiatrist-of-the-day for on-call or callback coverage during weekends and off-hours for emergencies, Mental Health Crisis Bed 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
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed