Psychiatrist

Position Title

Psychiatrist (Board Certified or Board Eligible) Contract Clinical Provider – Psychiatry Services

Position Purpose

The Contract Psychiatrist provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services to eligible veterans receiving care through the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) and affiliated CommunityBased Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

The provider supplements VA Mental Health staff by ensuring:

• Timely access to psychiatric care
• Diagnosis and treatment of mental illness
• Continuity of care
• Compliance with VA waittime standards

Duty Location

Primary duty station:

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Blvd Houston, TX 77030

Secondary assignments may occur at:

• Beaumont CBOC
• Lufkin CBOC
• Conroe CBOC
• Galveston CBOC
• Katy CBOC
• Lake Jackson CBOC
• Richmond CBOC
• Texas City CBOC
• Tomball CBOC

Providers typically: Cover one assigned site and do not rotate between sites

Work Schedule

• Monday – Friday
• 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM CST
• Eight (8) hours per day
• Five (5) days per week

There is:

No oncall requirement No weekend coverage No afterhours duty No holiday coverage

Clinical Duties

Direct Patient Care (95% of time)

The Contract Psychiatrist shall:

• Conduct psychiatric evaluations and diagnostic assessments
• Develop individualized treatment plans
• Provide medication management
• Perform risk and suicide assessments
• Admit and manage inpatient psychiatric patients
• Coordinate discharge planning and followup care
• See new referrals within VA access standards
• Provide care to severely mentally ill patients
• Conduct Econsult reviews
• Provide postdischarge followup
• Maintain timely documentation in VA EHR (CPRS)

Expected daily workload: Approximately 6 – 6.5 bookable clinical hours per day (~6 onehour visits or 12 halfhour visits)

Additional Clinical Responsibilities

The provider will:

• Interpret diagnostic test results
• Communicate findings per VHA Directive 1088
• Provide discharge education
• Coordinate interdisciplinary care
• Participate in peer review of selected cases
• Participate in mental health emergency scheduling

Administrative Duties (5% of time)

The Contract Psychiatrist shall:

• Attend weekly staff meetings
• Attend monthly Town Hall meetings
• Participate in Quality Improvement initiatives
• Participate in FPPE / OPPE evaluations
• Complete QA / QI documentation
• Report patient safety incidents within 24 hours

Documentation Responsibilities

All clinical care must be:

• Documented in VA Electronic Health Record
• Completed in accordance with:
• HIPAA
• Privacy Act
• FOIA
• VHA Directive 1907.01

Patient medical records are property of the Department of Veterans Affairs

Minimum Qualifications

The Contract Psychiatrist must:

• Be Board Certified or Board Eligible by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
• Current license to practice medicine in any U.S. State, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Maintain Basic Life Support (BLS) Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) or equivalency.
• Meet VA credentialingprivileging requirements
• Demonstrate technical proficiency in English
• Maintain CME requirements

Providers not eligible:

• Suspended
• Revoked
• Restricted licenses

Performance Expectations

Performance will be monitored via:

• FPPE / OPPE reviews
• Patient satisfaction surveys
• Documentation audits
• Timeattendance reviews

Key Performance Standards include:

The VA reserves the right to: Refuse acceptance of any Contractor personnel whose conduct jeopardizes patient care or facility operations.

Reporting Structure

The Contract Psychiatrist reports to:

• Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)
• Chief of Mental Health Service
• MEDVAMC Medical Executive Board (credentialing)