Inpatient & Consult Psychiatry - Full + Part time Roles

Join us at SMA to staff Scripps Mercy Hospital’s psychiatry program as we transition to the health system's first hospitalist coverage model for psychiatry. We're hiring for in-person and home call psychiatrists who are passionate about underserved care. Enjoy a balanced career at a health system that supports psychiatry like no other in San Diego. Open roles include inpatient adult psychiatrists and consultation-liaison psychiatrists for in-person daytime coverage

Scripps is America's top-ranked health system to work for ( Fortune , 2026), with physician satisfaction written directly into its vision statement, and it leads San Diego in workplace violence prevention. Scripps Mercy Hospital is San Diego's longest-established hospital and one of only two adult Level I trauma centers in the County, providing safety-net care to vulnerable populations, set in one of the city's most walkable and vibrant neighborhoods.

SMA Psychiatry is a local multi-specialty medical group dedicated to caring for complex, underserved populations, known for great job satisfaction across nearly every level of behavioral healthcare in San Diego.

Roles

We're transitioning from an independent practitioner model to one of close integration between a team of psychiatrists and the rest of the health system — creating a real opportunity for work-life balance within an inpatient psychiatry career. You'll join a team backed by a high level of ancillary staff support, in a hospital where other departments and leadership are, in their own words, "excited for collaboration with psychiatry." The current roles are designed to include time for significant interdisciplinary collaboration aiming at long term patient success.

Inpatient Unit

Two psychiatrists each manage up to 15–16 follow-up visits and 1 admission over a 10-hour day, with support from a consultation-liaison psychiatrist on busier days, and interdisciplinary team meetings 3 times weekly. No overnight call !

Consultation-Liaison Service

This service focuses on an integrated partnership of psychiatric care to support the mission of the 395 bed medical-surgical units and 51 bed emergency department. The psychiatrists’ efforts are aided by a genuinely exceptional & engaged Psychiatric Liaison Team of clinicians. The service is shared by two psychiatrists working 8-hour days and one working a 10-hour day, each managing roughly 2–3 new patients and 5–7 follow-ups along with meaningful interdisciplinary engagement. The psychiatrist on the 10-hour CL day has their two additional hours built in to help absorb surges on both the CL service and the inpatient unit. No overnight call!

Overnight call

This coverage runs 5 p.m.–7 a.m from home and is fully staffed at this time. This standalone role supports the inpatient unit, as well as the ER and medical-surgical units in partnership with our excellent PLTs. This role is performed from home via secure messaging, phone, and remote EMR access for psych unit admissions, needs of existing patients and to share brief curbside thoughts. There is no tele-psychiatry component to this role.

Requirements

ABPN Board Certified in Psychiatry or having graduated psychiatry residency within 5 years, active unrestricted California medical license in hand at time of application, Medicare & Medi-Cal eligibility.

Schedule

We are hiring for full time CL psychiatry and part time and weekend psychiatrist roles are available on both the CL & inpatient services. A 7 on 7 off schedule is optional. Daytime roles are in-person, onsite to deliver care and interdisciplinary collaboration * the entire shift

Apply now for a January 2027 start date.

Compensation

• In-person daytime roles: $240/hr as an independent contractor, or $396,000/year as an employed full-time psychiatrist with excellent benefits and PTO.
• Overnight call from home: $650/ shift
• +20%daily compensation for all roles while caring for our team’s patients on holidays
• Share in the annual group performance bonus
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF) eligible
• Malpractice, including tail coverage, provided
• Additional compensation to help with surges in consult volumes and court appearances for psychiatric holds