Psychiatrist - Northern California Behavioral Health System

POSITION TITLE:   Psychiatrist

REPORTS TO (TITLE):  Medical Director

DESCRIPTION OF POSITION and KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the general direction of the Medical Director, the Psychiatrist provides clinical oversight. We are looking for a compassionate, experienced psychiatrist to join our free-standing psychiatric hospital who will be responsible for assessing patients, diagnosing or ruling out mental disorders, prescribing treatments, and ordering follow-up appointments to monitor the patient's progress.

Requirements

Education and Experience:

• Completion of a psychiatric residency in an ACGME approved residency program
• Valid CA medical license (Psychiatrist)
• Board certified or board eligible
• Valid DEA certificate
• 2 years’ experience working full-time as a psychiatrist
• Competency restoration and/or forensics experience preferred

Responsibilities:

• Helps patients by evaluating medical and psychosocial conditions.
• Develops and implements treatment plans, including prescription of psychotropic medications.
• Monitors and evaluates treatment results.
• Evaluates patients by interviewing patient, family, and other persons; conducting physical examinations; observing behaviors; reviewing medical history and related documents; interpreting psychological tests; and ordering laboratory tests and evaluating results.
• Develops treatment plans by determining nature and extent of cognitive, emotional, developmental, social, and behavioral disorders and establishing treatment goals and methodologies.
• Treats patients by utilizing psychotherapeutic methods and medications; discussing progress toward goals with patients; providing instructions; monitoring effect of medications; and supervising staff provision of services.
• Maintains interdisciplinary treatment by reviewing treatment plans and progress, and consulting and collaborating with primary care physicians, mental health therapists, nurses, and other health care providers.
• Assures quality and safe service for patients and staff by enforcing policies, procedures, standards, rules, Joint Commission requirements, and legal regulations; participating in utilization reviews; and remaining available for emergency consultations.
• Improves staff competence by providing training and discussions regarding the interrelationship between psychosocial and physiological problems, psychotropic medications, crisis intervention, and related issues.
• Maintains historical records by documenting symptoms, medications, and treatment events and writing summaries.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in continuing medical educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests and exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Supervise the work of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners.

Skills and Abilities:

• Documentation skills
• Analyzing information
• Decision-making
• Listening
• Verbal communication
• Patient services
• Mental health
• Building relationships
• Discretion
• Bedside manner

Physical Requirements:  

While performing the duties of this job, this position is frequently required to do the following: 

• Use standard office equipment and access, input, and retrieve information from a computer.   Use computer keyboard with manual and finger dexterity and wrist-finger speed sufficient to perform repetitive actions efficiently for extended periods of time. 
• Communicate effectively in English in person, or via telephone, in a manner which can be understood by those with whom the person is speaking, including a diverse population. 
• Give and follow verbal and written instructions with attention to detail and accuracy. 
• Perform complex mental functions and basic arithmetic functions; interpret complex laws, regulations, and policies; collect, interpret, and/or analyze complex data and information.
• Vision: See details of objects at close range.
• Coordinate multiple tasks simultaneously. 
• Reach forward, up, down, and to the side. 
• Sit or stand for minimum periods of one hour at a time and come and go from the work area repeatedly throughout the day.
• Lift up to ten (10) pounds.

  Additional Information:

 Located in Sacramento, California, Sacramento Behavioral Healthcare Hospital (SBHH) is a 117-bed free-standing psychiatric hospital.  The hospital has six inpatient units ranging in size from 19 to 20 beds each.  Two of the units (39 beds) are for general adult care.  The other four units are for competency restoration.  Those four units are for individuals who were charged with a crime who were deemed incompetent to stand trial (IST) and are here for competency restoration.  These patients are referred from facilities across the state, and hospitalized on a court-ordered commitment to be restored to competency.   

Unique aspects of the IST units include:

-        For the overwhelming majority of these forensic patients, their commitment includes an Involuntary Medication Order (IMO) which allows for the involuntary use of psychotropic medications.

-        24/7 availability of a private security team who are present on each of the IST units, who assure the safety of the staff and patients.  Security is tasked with having eyes on staff members, including, physicians, in each of their encounters with patients.

-        A heavily emphasized treatment team approach to the acute stabilization of underlying psychiatric issues, followed by a longer-term competency restoration process.  Psychiatrists are not solely relied upon for, nor do they need to have any expertise in, the tasks of restoring patients to competency.  The average length of stay for these patients also allows for longer term care of particularly difficult patients without any of the typical insurance-driven pressures to discharge them.

-        The opportunity to consult with the country’s foremost Psychopharmacology experts in the treatment of the severely mentally ill should there arise any particularly challenging clinical cases and questions.

-        Despite the forensic population, the availability of an IMO for most patients and the presence of 24/7 security staff have contributed to a much safer, and more structured, working environment than a typical acute inpatient psychiatric unit.

The average length of stay for the general adult units is 7 days.  For the IST units, it’s 2 to 3 months.

The main treatment modalities are:  medication management, group therapy, family & individual sessions.  Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and internal medicine physicians comprise the provider group with nurses, therapists, and mental health techs rounding out the patient care service group.

Treatment teams meet daily, Monday thru Friday.  Each patient is seen a minimum of five days per week, some more often.  The psychiatrist attends treatment team meetings along with the nurse and therapist.

Verbal de-escalation and physical holds are performed by use of Handle With Care techniques.  We do not possess mechanical restraints.  We do have a few seclusion rooms for individuals who need that momentary less stimulating space.

The medical record is electronic using a system called “Best Care.”  Providers do their own physician order entry and electronically transmit discharge prescriptions.

The credentialing/privileging process is coordinated through our Medical Staff Office and typically takes a week or so to accomplish.  New providers are provided a few hours of administrative and clinical orientation by the Medical Staff Office and by the Medical Director.

Psychiatrists will typically cover a unit or two, with or without nurse practitioner assistance (depending on census and vacations) during weekdays and be on call during those weekdays until 8pm at which time on-call moonlighters cover after-hours calls.  Psychiatrists are expected to take call one weekend per month. 

All new patient psychiatric evaluations are done by psychiatrists who then either continue the care for that particular patient or in some cases turn it over to a nurse practitioner.   Psychiatrists work in conjunction with the Medical Director to receive their unit-based assignment(s).  On a daily basis, the Intake Department assigns new patients to attending psychiatrists.  H&Ps are done by internal medicine physicians. 

Current needs are:

·        Two full-time board-certified general adult psychiatrists.  This is an in-person role Mon-Fri with one weekend of call per month.

Interview process:

·        HR Recruiter will send potential profiles to the CEO who will screen & schedule a brief Zoom interview. 

·        The current attending psychiatrists and Medical Director will be the decision-makers about the acceptance of any particular psychiatrist.

·        Once accepted, the onboarding process will be coordinated by the Medical Staff Coordinator.

Benefits

1099 or employment models available.