Summary 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. Responsibilities The Mental Health Service at VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLA) is seeking a full-time Psychiatrist to join the Acute Care Psychiatry division in the Mental Health Emergency Department at West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. As a member of this service, you will deliver direct patient care in the psychiatric emergency department, providing evaluations, diagnoses, treatment and crisis interventions for Veterans presenting with acute mental health and substance abuse issues. You will also serve as a psychiatric consultant to the medical emergency department to address the mental health needs of patients presenting with medical chief complaints. For Veterans requiring psychiatric hospitalization, you will have the ability to arrange voluntary and involuntary admissions to the inpatient psychiatric unit at West LA VAMC. You will also be involved in care coordination for patients in need of referral to outpatient mental health, substance abuse and housing resources. You will be supported by an interdisciplinary team consisting of social workers, nurses, a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant. You will also have opportunities to teach and/or supervise residents from the UCLA and USC psychiatry training programs. As a member of a multidisciplinary team, the psychiatrist is responsible for medication management for patients with a wide variety of mental disorders, including supportive psychotherapy when indicated, as well as facilitation of medication support groups, evaluating and providing medical clearance for patients presenting to the clinic who may need psychiatric hospitalization, and assessment and intervention for patients presenting in crisis. 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 May provide direct patient care services to Veterans in the section and at other sites within GLA. Functions include but are not limited to: - Performs psychiatric evaluations for a diverse population. - Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including diagnostic assessment, medication evaluation and management, suicide risk assessments, crisis intervention, and overall care of patients with psychiatric disorders. - Ensures practice of psychiatric medicine is consistent with TJC, CARF, HIPPA, VA policies and procedures, clinical practice guidelines, national statutes and regulations, medical record documentation, and mandatory continuing education. - Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care. - The Psychiatrist may serve as a mental health team leader with responsibilities for coordinating consults and triage of specialty clinic referrals. - Participates effectively in team meetings and treatment planning conferences, and collaborates with multidisciplinary team members that enhances coordination of comprehensive patient care. - Orders diagnostic tests and consultations, and discriminates between normal and abnormal findings and makes appropriate treatment decisions. - Areas which the psychiatrist is assigned and has clinical privileges to practice may include depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, substance abuse, and other psychiatric disorders in outpatient clinical settings. - Mental health assessments, including suicide risk assessments and diagnostic assessments for both acute and chronic mental health conditions - Crisis evaluation & intervention/management - Treatment, including psychiatric pharmacotherapy within the VA formulary guidelines and non-pharmacotherapy interventions (e.g. psychotherapies) - Treatment planning and coordination with other disciplines - Administrative duties- Order and interpret diagnostic tests - Documentation using the VA electronic record (i.e. CPRS) - Teach and counsel patients/families including health promotion and disease prevention - Referrals to specialty care services, as indicated- Hospital admissions for acute, mental-health decompensation - Work as part of a multidisciplinary treatment team Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. Qualifications 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: Board certified or board-eligible in Psychiatry. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5019/1, Part II, Pre-Placement Physical Examinations and Evaluations Education 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: Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted. 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. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
