Physician (Regular Ft) - Psychiatrist - Outpatient Medical Director

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible.

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Duties

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Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases

Paid Time Off: 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)

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory

CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)

Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Primary Purpose:

The psychiatrist will assume clinical, administrative, and educational responsibilities based on negotiations with the Chief of Psychiatry and Mental Health and demonstrate positive team spirit. Psychiatry and Mental Health Service provides psychiatric care in the outpatient and inpatient setting as well as support to the Homeless Team for clinical matters. Additionally the position serves inpatient/outpatient referrals for the medical and skilled care rehab units. The physician is to be board certified or eligible in general psychiatry practice. The mission of the Psychiatry and Mental Health Service is to provide Veterans in need of mental health services with high quality clinical treatment, case management, advocacy and coordination of care. He/she will ensure the quality and timeliness of the services provided, customer satisfaction, as well as compliance with standards of accrediting bodies such as the Joint Commission and the Inspector General's Combined Assessment Program.

Supervision :

The incumbent will be the Outpatient Medical Director and will supervise staff in Mental Health Walk-in clinic and will help with float coverage. They report to the Chief, Mental Health Service. Administrative direction is provided in terms of broadly defined goals and missions. Incumbent exercises a high degree of latitude in the planning, designing, implementation and accomplishment of program responsibilities. The incumbent works within a framework of VA guidelines, directives, and regulations.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Psychiatrist:

• Staff psychiatrists are ultimately responsible for all aspects of psychiatric care - primarily responsible for timely initial evaluation and management of inpatients and outpatients referred for mental health treatment in all MH Programs.
• He/she will provide consultation and treatment for inpatients with mental health needs. Outpatient/inpatient consultation includes evaluation, interpretation, diagnosis, and management of psychiatric illnesses in any care site. This includes ordering diagnostic tests, imaging examinations, or diagnostic procedures.

• Staff psychiatrists prescribe medications. Adheres to VA policy and is in accordance with the VA formulary and State regulations.
• When assigned, he/she will assume responsibility for psychiatric coverage for Code Orange assigned (behavior emergency) (during administrative tours of duty) and psychiatric on-call services (during irregular tours of duty) as assigned.
• He/she, in addition to providing direct patient care, also provides patient and family education, staff education, and consults and collaborates with other health care providers.
• He/she uses professional standards of care and practice to evaluate programs and/or service activities; and adheres to the requirements of this Medical Center and Mental Health Service standards.

• Staff psychiatrists are appropriately credentialed and privileged. They participate in various medical center committees, departmental and hospital in-service programs, and educational programs of the department, medical center, and external sources. Involved in continuous quality improvement through peer review process.
• He/she may participate in the planning and implementation of Performance Improvement/QM programs within the mental health service.
• He/she may be involved in formulating and implementation of general policies, procedures, standards and goals and objectives for the mental health service that are consistent with, and supportive of the mission of the Medical Center and VISN10.
• Staff Psychiatrists will adhere to VA Policy regarding Computerized Patient Records System (CPRS) documentation.

Work Schedule : Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.

This position will entail going to other care sites within the Indy VAMC at times, to include CBOCs and the Domiciliary.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• 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 ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical 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.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

Citizenship .

Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.) in accordance with section38 U.S.C. § 7402(c). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Education .

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 an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are:

• Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
• Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.

For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must confirm that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.

NOTE : The Under Secretary for 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.

Licensure/Registration.

Physicians must possess a 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. The Physician must maintain current registration in the state of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active, current licensure.

Residency Training.

Physicians must have successfully completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in an accredited core specialty training program (NOTE: VA Physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are:

• Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) leading to eligibility for board certification,

OR

• Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) leading to eligibility for board certification,

OR

• 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

• Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of 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.

Board Certification

Physicians are generally not required to be board certified for employment in VA; however, three circumstances in VA require Physician board certification:

• If the position being filled is required to be a supervisor for medical students or Physician residents (including fellows), the LCME, ACGME, or AOA standards requiring a particular board certification credential will apply.
• If the position being filled will have faculty status with an affiliated medical school (for example, in joint recruitments with affiliated medical schools), then a medical school requirement for board certification will apply to the jointly recruited position.
• If the position being filled is required to be board certified by virtue of specific VHA policy (for example, as director of a cardiac catheterization laboratory or Director of Clinical Laboratory Medicine), then VHA policy requiring board certification will apply.

NOTE: Board certification must be maintained for the duration of time that the employee is serving in a position that meets the circumstances listed above.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands of the position involve standard office requirements such as using the telephone, retrieving files, writing reports, data entry and maintenance of computer databases, etc. Work is typically performed sitting at a desk and using a computer. This position may require occasional travel. The position requires periods of walking, standing, sitting and bending.

English Language Proficiency:

Physicians appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7402(d) and 7407(d).

Preferred Experience:

• Incumbent will have sufficient clinical knowledge and experience to monitor and assess clinical competencies and practices
• Sufficient interpersonal skills to deal harmoniously with a diverse population of internal and external customers
• Sufficient time management skills to prioritize completion of a high volume workload
• Board certified or eligible in general psychiatry practice.
• Ability to achieve results in the setting of constrained resources
• Incumbent must have a demonstrated ability to meet the responsibilities of this position
• Completion of a Residency in Psychiatry as accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or nationally accredited training program, including the training required for graduation.
• The Service Chief determines the adequacy of the provider's experience/competence to support the granting of privileges based on both recent and remote experience.
• Must be willing to participate in VISN programs and meetings as necessary.
• Must be willing to participate in Psych on-call
• Knowledge and skill to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients, as well as overall knowledge of the management of an array of mental health and substance abuse disorders, while not necessarily being expert in any one area.
• Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.
• Will provide patient care services to a wide range of veterans with ages ranging from teenage to geriatric. The incumbent must have the ability to assess the patient's specific age related need(s). He/she must also have knowledge of the human growth, development, and aging process and understanding the treatment needed by different age groups.
• Protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, Federal regulations, VA statutes and policy and VHA policy. Protects the data from unauthorized release or from loss, alteration, or unauthorized deletion. Follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files, release of access codes, etc., as set out in the computer access agreement that the employee signs.
• Annually completes 40 hours of continuing education, including mandatory computer modules

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Education

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 an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are:

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. 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.

NOTE: 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.

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more. This position is eligible for EDRP, a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of your start date. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io questions/assistance.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Whole Health Statement

VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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