Psychiatrist -- Jail Health, Psychiatric Services Team

Jail Health Psychiatrist

Public Health Seattle & King County Jail Health Services Division's Psychiatric Services team is seeking a Jail Health Psychiatrist. The Psychiatric Services team provides behavioral health and psychiatric care to detained residents at the King County Correctional Facility and Maleng Regional Justice Center. Jail Health Psychiatrists are responsible for providing psychiatric care as part of a team of other mental health/psychiatry professionals (Psychiatrists, ARNPs, and independently Licensed Mental Health Counselors or Social Workers) within the larger Jail Health Services division of Public Health.

Jail Health Services (JHS) provides needed health and social services to the incarcerated population located in the King County jails King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle, WA and Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent, WA. The primary services we provide include medical, dental, mental health, social and release planning services, treatment of substance use disorders, and pharmaceutical services. We care about the patients we serve and their health outcomes. Our division includes over 250 employees and an annual budget of over $60 million. The purpose of JHS is to assure that high-quality health and human services are available to the incarcerated population in the King County adult correctional facilities: the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent. The JHS vision is opening doors to healthier, happier lives, and the mission is to assess and stabilize serious health problems for the detained population of the King County Correctional Facility and the Maleng Regional Justice Center with a focus on transition from jail. Staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, JHS provides a broad range of health care to all individuals booked into the jails. For patients with serious mental health or medical conditions, special housing units (psychiatric and infirmary) along with a higher level of services and medical monitoring are provided. Since the patient population varies both in numbers as well as in acuity of health conditions, staffing is adapted and flexed to meet the constantly changing needs of the population. JHS staff manage the complex health needs of underserved populations, many of whom come to the facility without access to care in the community and with decompensated acute and chronic health conditions.

Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

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Work location: This position will be assigned shifts at both the King County Correctional Facility located at 500 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104 and the Maleng Regional Justice Center located at 620 W James St, Kent, WA 98032. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements. Work Schedule: The exact work schedule may be negotiable with the chosen candidate, but in general this position will be five 8-hour shifts per week, or four 10-hour work shifts per week, during the Monday through Friday work week. The position is full time (1.0 FTE) which also has weekend rotation and overnight on call rotation components. Weekend shifts worked result in a flex day off during the regular work week. This position also includes rotating day pager (on-site) and overnight (off-site) on-call shifts with compensation. Onsite work hours are likely 8 or 10 hours between 0700 and 1800. This position is full time on-site, other than overnight on call shifts which are covered from home.

Job Duties

• Provide psychiatric services as an independent psychiatric health care provider based on Public Health - Seattle & King County clinical practice guidelines, CDC guidelines, mental health care standards as well as the current community standards.
• Assess patients and establish diagnoses by performing psychiatric evaluation. This includes gathering patient history, performing a physical examination, and other methods of assessment.
• Order or perform appropriate diagnostic and screening tests and collect additional data for evaluation of illness/wellness. This work may be done in a clinic setting or within psychiatric housing as required.
• Develop differential diagnosis and identify risk through assessment and interpretation of data.
• Provide managed patient health care by developing and implementing an individual treatment plan, prescribe/dispense medication, and provide counseling and case management.
• Complete documentation in Epic electronic health record, communicate care through electronic charting and verbal interactions with your patient and health care team, providing them with leadership and direction where necessary.
• Respond to medical or psychiatric emergencies as part of the jail healthcare team.
• Ensure quality of professional practice by practicing within professional, legal, and ethical standards and by participating in and providing continuing education, peer review, chart review, development of practice guidelines, and community work.
• Provide leadership and collaboration within the health care team to ensure quality patient care.
• Provide patient care consultation to other Jail Health Services staff when on call.
• Provide training, orientation, and education to resident patients, staff, and students.
• Participate in continuing education, guidelines development, staff development, and committee meetings.
• Participate in quality assurance activities to demonstrate compliance with standards, laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Act as a consultant to the health care team, other staff, and the community including advocating for patients.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least two (2) years of experience prescribing psychotropic medications.
• Washington State medical license in good standing.
• Current Board certification or board eligibility in Psychiatry
• Federal Drug Enforcement certificate.
• Basic Life Support CPR certification with AED.
• Washington State Driver's License or the ability to utilize transportation to and from assigned work locations.
• Security clearance and/or background check.
• Willing to provide options counseling and possible referral for pregnancy termination.
• Interest in treatment of substance use disorders.
• Advanced knowledge of human systems, including wellness/illness, growth and development, basic nutrition, behavioral health, psycho-social and family systems.
• Knowledge of diagnostic testing and interpretation of results.
• Knowledge of diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision-making.
• Knowledge of alternative treatment modalities.
• Knowledge of health promotion, risk assessment, and education techniques and principles.
• Knowledge of community, professional, and educational resources.
• Knowledge of health care system structure and function.
• Knowledge of therapeutic client interventions and group dynamics.
• Knowledge/experience of electronic health record medical records documentation.
• Ability to effectively engage in, and sustain, relationships with people from diverse cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently and as a team member.
• Demonstrated proficiency with business applications, such as Microsoft Office suite and Office 365 systems.

Desired Qualifications:

• Two or more years of experience providing adult psychiatric services.
• Experience and/or training in addiction psychiatry and/or addiction medicine.
• Correctional or inpatient psychiatric care experience.
• Bi or multilingual language skill desired.
• Demonstrated commitment to diverse cultural and socio-economic populations, providing therapeutic patient interventions and group dynamics.

Supplemental Information

Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

If you are interested in pursuing this position and supporting King County's vision for unified, equitable, and high-performing government, please follow the application instructions carefully. Provide us with your work history as