Staff Addiction Physiatrist

Duties

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Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Yes
EDRP Authorized: Contact , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance; VISN2EDRPCoordinators@va.gov

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

Major duties and responsibilities include:

• Promotes Veterans adaptive recoveries from addictions and substances of abuse
• Initiate and manage Veterans who require Methadone Maintenance in the Opioid Treatment Program
• Provide Medication Assisted Treatment to Veterans in Substance abuse Intensive Outpatient Program, Residential Substance Rehab program.
• Train Addiction Fellows and Psychiatry Residents in Substance abuse program
• Provide consultation to Medical and Psychiatric colleagues for MAT.
• Performs psychiatric evaluations for a diverse population, including geriatric and post deployment combat Veterans, who are mentally ill and have psychosocial issues such as homelessness, unemployment, and poor family support network.
• 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.
• May participate in supervision and teaching in support of the psychiatric residency program, performs on call duties, and performs other directly related duties as assigned.
• 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 various clinical settings (outpatient)

Work Schedule: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 paid Federal holidays per year
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service