Physician - Chief of Psychiatry

This position is located in the Mental Health Service Line, Albany VA Medical Center. This position is a clinical and administrative position that provides leadership and administrative control over the psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and physician assistant covering in the inpatient and outpatient Mental Health Programs within the Albany VA Medical Center.

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Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) Authorized: 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. Program 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. Former participants are ineligible to apply for the EDRP incentive. Contact VHAEDRPProgramSupport@va.gov for questions or assistance Learn more.
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

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:

• Performs administrative and clinic oversight for the Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistant within the Albany VA Mental Health Service.
• Assists in the development of policies and procedures.
• Coordinates provision of mental health care to achieve optimal utilization of available resources.
• Oversees the completion of all Focused Professional Practice Evaluations (FPPE), and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE) for the Psychiatry Service.
• Completes annual and mi-year performance evaluations for the Psychiatry Staff, as well as completes Pay for Performance documentation with each Psychiatrist, during the beginning and end of the fiscal year.
• Responsible for provision of recommendations in matters such as promotions, selections, on-the-job training, awards, EEO complaints, disciplinary actions, training, career development and professional enrichment programs for the psychiatry staff.
• Serves as psychiatric attending physician to medical students, psychiatric residents, and others approved to rotate with Albany VA Medical Center and participates in mental health related educational activities as appropriate.
• Awareness, implementation, and maintenance of JCAHO and VA guidelines for psychiatric care.
• Assists the Mental Health Leadership in the execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical programs.
• Responsible for the development of competencies for the psychiatrists, as well as assuring continuing education standards.
• Participate as appropriate in clinical research activities in accordance with VAMC policies and IRB rules.
• Assures annual credentialing and privileging are met by professional psychiatric staff.
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by Mental Health Service, COS, and facility Director.
• Represents the organization internally and externally in a manner that reflects positively on the Health Care System and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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

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 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 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR
  [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), 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.
  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 or fee-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.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Additional Requirement: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Board Eligible/Board Certified

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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, or
2. 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.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate 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.