Physician (Section Chief Psychiatrist) Mental Health Service

Psychiatrist within Mental Health Service who performs duties as a Section Chief.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized for Highly Qualified Applicants.

This is an Open-Continuous announcement that will remain open until the position is filled. Applications will be reviewed in the order received and will be sent to the hiring manager for consideration.

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

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Mental. Health Service is divided generally into Sections to include Inpatient, Residential, Outpatient and Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI). Each section is supervised by a MHS Section Chief who is a Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP) who also provides direct care to Veterans while he/she ensures the following general administrative functions:

• Provide for quality and safety of the bare, treatment, and services provided by the Section in MH Service. This requires ongoing monitoring and evaluation of quality and safety, (including access, efficiency, and effectiveness); appropriateness of care and treatment provided to patients (including that provided under temporary privileges or emergency care absent privileges); patient satisfaction activities; patient safety and risk management activities; and utilization management.
• Assist in identification of important aspects of care for the Section, identification of indicators used to measure and assess important aspects of care, and evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of care. Utilize VHA performance measures and monitors as a basis for assessing the quality, timeliness, efficiency, and safety of Service activities.
• Maintain. records of meetings that include reports of conclusions, data, recommendations, responsible person, actions taken, and an evaluation of effectiveness of actions taken as appropriate.
• Develop criteria for recommending clinical privileges for LIP and scopes for non-LIP as appropriate for members of that Section in MH Service and ensure that ongoing professional practice evaluation is continuously performed and results are utilized at the time of re-privileging.
• Define and/or develop clinical privilege statements for staff in his/her Section including levels (or categories) of care that include all requirements of VHA Handbook 1100.19, Credentialing and Privileging.
• Develop policies and procedures to ensure effective management, ethics, safety, communication, and quality within the Section and between MH Service Sections and Services as appropriate.
• Review, at least annually, privilege templates for each Service and make recommendations to the Chief, MHS for modifications as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized for Highly Qualified Applicants.

EDRP Authorized: 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 for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov 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

Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm Monday - Friday

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.

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

Physical Requirements: Physical and mental status of individuals should enable them to perform all their duties under normal and emergent conditions. The applicant must have the ability to perform efficiently and without hazard to self or others will encompass consideration of physical, mental, and emotional ability as related to realistic requirements for the duties and responsibilities to be assumed.

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.

• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the Agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the Agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.