Chief Psychiatrist
What you'd do
The Pittsburgh VAMC is looking for a Psychiatrist to serve as their Chief of Psychiatry. The Chief Psychiatrist is accountable to the Associate Chief of Staff, Behavioral Health for administering management of the day-to-day operations of the clinical and administrative practices and staff across all components of the behavioral health care program, spanning across the two campuses, and 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics.
Major duties
Major Responsibilities - Chief of Psychiatry include: Clinical Leadership Provide oversight and direction for all inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services across the facility. Provide oversight and direction for all medical services provided within behavioral health service line. Ensure delivery of evidence-based mental health care consistent with VHA clinical practice guidelines. Serve as the senior clinical authority on complex, high-risk, or escalated psychiatric cases. Maintain a personal clinical caseload as assigned. Administrative & Operational Management Direct day-to-day operations of the psychiatry service line, including scheduling, access, and clinic flow. Manage productivity, wait times, and access standards in alignment with VHA performance metrics. Participate in resource allocation, space utilization, and equipment needs. Develop, implement, and monitor service-level policies and standard operating procedures. Personnel & Workforce Management Supervise psychiatrists, advanced practice providers, and other assigned mental health/medical staff. Lead recruitment, credentialing/privileging coordination, onboarding, and retention efforts. Conduct performance evaluations, professional practice evaluations (OPPE/FPPE), and address performance concerns. Manage physician scheduling, on-call coverage, and workload distribution. Quality, Safety & Compliance Ensure compliance with Joint Commission, VHA directives, and other regulatory standards. Lead quality improvement, peer review, and patient safety initiatives for the service. Monitor and act on quality metrics, adverse events, and root cause analyses. Strategic Planning & Program Development Contribute to facility strategic planning and mental health program expansion. Mange, develop, and integrate specialty programs. Identify and implement service innovations and process improvements. Academic, Research & Training (if academically affiliated) Oversee psychiatry residency/fellowship training and coordinate with academic affiliates. Support and promote research activities and clinician-educator development. Foster staff continuing education and professional development. Interdisciplinary Collaboration & Communication Coordinate with primary care, emergency department, hospital medicine, and other service lines for integrated care. Represent psychiatry on facility committees, executive boards, and VISN-level initiatives. Serve as liaison with Veterans, families, VSOs, and community partners. Fiscal & Administrative Stewardship Participate in budget development and management for the service line. Ensure appropriate documentation, coding, and workload capture. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. 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: Monday - Friday, 8a-4:30p; negotiable
What you need to qualify
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: Leadership experience as a Section/Division Chief. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Physical demands include repetitive body movements including the following: frequent reaching, standing, walking, and lifting of equipment and/or patients to provide patient care. This position requires extension of the hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction including above or below shoulder level, during the provision of patient care, including retrieval of needed equipment, supplies and to make contact with the patient. This position requires the maintenance of an upright position to perform duties associated with patient care. This position is typically non-sedentary, and frequently involves being in the standing position. This position requires moving about accomplish tasks, such as assisting with patient ambulation and moving one patient area to the next. This position requires the raising of objects from a lower position to a higher position or the movement of objects horizontally position to position. Lifting may be done to move a patient from one location to the next, i.e.- from the exam table to the chair, and in the movement of equipment or supplies.
Before you apply
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