Physician-Psychiatrist

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 to apply.

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Duties

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This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS announcement. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.

The incumbent will serve as a Psychiatrist for the Mental Health Care Line and is responsible for the provision of psychiatric evaluations, care and mental health treatment and services for Veterans enrolled in its various components, such as the Inpatient, Outpatient, Subspeciality, Residential, and Intensive Outpatient programs.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be approved for highly qualified candidates

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance

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

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Performs clinical work that evaluates the human mental state and behavior and describes the clinical phenomena and behavior, develops formulations to explain clinical presentation and history and determine a differential diagnosis, and develops treatment plans to predict or modify the clinical condition as indicated.
• Performs psychiatric evaluations, risk assessments, and treatment of patients with mental illnesses and/or problems of personality, behavior, or emotional adjustment.
• Based on data gathered through primary or adjunctive assessments or tests, plans or recommends appropriate clinical treatment based on precedent and standards of the profession.
• Develops and implements individualized treatment plans that incorporate pharmacologic, other somatic, and psychotherapeutic modalities for a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses and behavioral presentations. Develops comprehensive treatment plans specific to the patient. The patients assigned often have multiple complicating factors (i.e., physical disabilities, lack of support or resources) or other external or environmental considerations that complicate treatment.
• Provides or recommends medication treatments, somatic interventions, psychotherapy (e.g., individual, group and/or family), and wellness or psychosocial options (e.g., Whole Health Programming) and uses recognized therapeutic techniques to address complex psychiatric conditions.
• Promotes, supervises, and/or performs psychotherapy with patients. Uses therapeutic techniques.
• Demonstrates skill in formulating differential diagnoses and in modifying treatment based on clinical response or evolving presentation.
• Provides consultation and specialty psychiatric expertise to other medical center programs and staff, including with homeless program teams, on a wide variety of clinical issues.
• Presents and discusses treatment plans with multidisciplinary teams and collaboratively adjusts care as needed, particularly in the context of complex medical or social comorbidities (e.g., physical disabilities, lack of resources, legal barriers).
• Promotes a supportive and therapeutic clinical environment and psychotherapeutic culture within the team and among colleagues.
• Supervises and oversees the clinical care provided by trainees, including psychiatry residents and medical students, offering instruction on diagnostic formulation and treatment progression.
• Provides oversight into the clinical activities of non-licensed personnel and clinical consultation to other clinical staff; ensures team adherence to clinical protocols and standards of care.
• Identifies characteristics of progress and adjustments to treatment that are typical in certain circumstances. Uses clinical assessment tools across episodes of care to monitor clinical status and treatment response (i.e., provides measurement-based care as a component of treatment).
• Ensures timely and accurate completion of all clinical documentation and administrative records in accordance with VA and medical center policies.
• Practices and promotes safety and infection control measures and contributes to a culture of continuous quality improvement.

Work Schedule: Schedules vary; to be discussed with hiring manager.

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

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) 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.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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. ( NOTE : VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) 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.
  • Exceptions:
    
    
    • 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. Additionally, 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.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience:

• Coordinating care with an interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Providing psychiatric care in an outpatient and inpatient setting

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

Physical Requirements: Placement in this position is subject to meeting the physical requirements of this position. Pre-placement medical examination is required.

Functional Requirements

• Light lifting, under 15 pounds
• Light carrying, under 15 pounds
• Walking, up to 1 hour
• Standing, up to 1 hour
• Hearing (aid may be permitted)

Environmental Factors

• Working closely with others
• Working alone

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.

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.

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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