Psychiatrist - Behavioral Health Community Based Outpatient Clinic

Veterans Health Administration•Meadville, PA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is located in two of the VA's Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) and will be split between Meadville, PA 3x/week and Franklin, PA 2x/week. The role involves providing medical care and evaluation for psychiatry outpatients, utilizing advanced practice skills in outpatient care, education, research, and consultation. The psychiatrist will provide healthcare to individuals, families, and groups across the adult life span, managing wellness and illness care, including assessment, diagnosis, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, prescribing medications, and evaluating treatment outcomes. Responsibilities include collaborating with patients and other care providers, practicing in a sensitive and nondiscriminatory manner, documenting assessments and interventions, and counseling patients in health promotion/disease prevention strategies. Specific duties include conducting psychiatric evaluations, providing follow-up care, offering mental health education and brief therapy, and performing examinations and screening scales. The psychiatrist will also be responsible for ordering appropriate tests, answering consults for inpatients, evaluating outside consultations, and facilitating access to the medical director and other staff. Participation in regional and national meetings for the advancement of psychiatry and continuing medical education is also expected.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
Subject to background/security investigation.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
You may be required to serve a probationary period.
Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine.
The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
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.
Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the Physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.
Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Nice To Haves

Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.
Must be full-time with board certification for CME reimbursement.
Physicians currently employed in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.
Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs).
PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent basis.
PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision.
Surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.
In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year graduated.
The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities.
The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.

Responsibilities

Provide medical care and evaluation for psychiatry outpatients in the Crawford (3 days/week) and Venango (2 days/week) mental health outpatient clinics.
Utilizes advanced practice skills and knowledge in an independent manner in areas outpatient care, education, research and consultation with physician collaboration as needed.
Provides healthcare to individuals, families, and groups across the adult life span.
Manages and provides wellness and illness care to assigned group of patients.
This includes assessment, diagnosis, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, prescribing medications and treatment plan when applicable and evaluating treatment outcomes.
Collaborates with patient and other care providers to evaluate and update changes in the therapeutic plan of care and patient management.
Practices in a nonjudgmental, nondiscriminatory manner and is sensitive to diversity.
Appropriately documents assessments and interventions.
Counsels patients in health promotion/disease prevention strategies.
Conduct psychiatric evaluations, including assessment interviews, history and physical exams; lab, imaging, medication and psychotherapy consultation orders, aftercare plans and follow up visits.
Provide appropriate follow up care including reassessments of diagnoses and conditions, medication adjustments, and any further tests or consults indicated.
Provide mental health education /counseling and brief therapy of patients and their families.
Primary responsibility for care of patients when the clinic medical director is absent.
Perform examinations and screening scales (such as AIMS, MoCA, HAM-D) and similar non-invasive examinations specific to the ongoing care of psychiatric patients
Ordering appropriate laboratory tests, imaging studies, EKGs (electrocardiograms),and similar noninvasive tests.
Answering consults for inpatients on the medical floor when called upon and holding scheduled appointments for outpatients to observe and record patients' medical progress.
Evaluates outside consultations presenting to the mental health clinic and determines the appropriate disposition, routing and urgency of those consults.
Facilitates access to the mental health clinic medical director and other staff for other Health Care Providers.
Participation in regional and national meetings for the advancement of psychiatry and continuing medical education requirements.

Benefits

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment)
Competitive salary
Annual performance bonus
Regular salary increases
50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting)
Federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement for CME (must be full-time with board certification)
Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting
Comprehensive benefits package