Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is eligible for Education Debt Relief Program (EDRP) Departmental Structure and Function The Mental Health Service provides care in two settings: inpatient psychiatry unit and outpatient programs. Psychiatrists assigned to Mental Health Service provide psychiatric care for inpatients and outpatients. The Chief, Mental Health Service is responsible for the overall clinical and administrative functions of Mental Health Service. Performance of Psychiatrists Psychiatrists are able to perform and teach all of the services required in the practice of psychiatry to psychiatry residents. Educational experiences are also provided to appropriate health care personnel who seek training in mental health (e.g. medical students, psychology and social work interns, physician assistants and nursing students, and non-psychiatry medical residents). Major duties include: Application of accepted protocols for assessment of the individual presenting with altered mental status. Assessment may include gathering verbal and documented history, mental status examination and medical and laboratory evaluation. Diagnostic description or formulation to guide appropriate acute and secondary treatment interventions. Provision of psychiatric care according to his/her privileges. Responsibilities of the Psychiatrist Staff psychiatrists are ultimately responsible for all aspects of psychiatric care. Staff psychiatrists provide or assist residents and/or the nurse practitioner in the process of evaluation and treatment of the psychiatric patient, and actively participate in corrective actions against untoward responses to psychiatric interventions. Staff psychiatrists evaluate the patient to assess changes in the physical and mental status. A progress note is written in the patient's chart. Notes also include the concurrence with notes written by the resident, and attending notes as appropriate. Staff psychiatrists perform inpatient psychiatry consultations, and outpatient psychiatry evaluations and treatment. During on-call hours, staff psychiatrists shall be available for all emergency psychiatric interventions. Staff psychiatrists are appropriately credentialed and privileged. They participate in various hospital committees, departmental and hospital in-service programs, and education programs of the department and the hospital. They are also involved in continuous quality improvement through peer review process. Staff psychiatrists shall be responsible for inpatient and outpatient care, and graduate and undergraduate medical education, and scientific research as appropriate.
Providing Health Care for Veterans: The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.
