Psychiatrist – Inpatient – VA Maryland Health Care System (Openings in Cambridge, Maryland and Fort Meade Army Base, Maryland)

You could be part of an important initiative to provide mental health care for our nations Veterans! The VA needs mental health professionals who possess the energy, compassion, and commitment to serve those who serve our country. Whatever the job title, every position in VA will give you a chance to make a meaningful and personal contribution to the lives of truly special and deserving Veterans.

• Provide general clinical psychiatric services to Veterans and including on-call services.
• General outpatient psychiatric care of adult Veterans and may include, but are not limited to, conducting diagnostic evaluations, psychiatric consults, Crisis stabilization, uncomplicated detoxification, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapy.
• Candidates must be comfortable prescribing clozapine, buprenorphine, and long acting injectable antipsychotics in the outpatient setting.
• Required to exercise judgment in the selection of or adaptation of standard and accepted clinical theories, techniques, and practices in treating patients or developing new techniques and programs for the treatment of specialized problems or clinical populations.
• Facilitate admissions to the inpatient psychiatry unit. Coordinate care at the point of admission with inpatient psychiatric, or medical-surgical units, emergency room transfers and physicians.
• Common patient diagnoses to include: Anxiety disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression and other mood disorders, Substance Use Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Substance Use disorders and other Serious Mental Illnesses, Dementia, mental disorder related to Traumatic Brain Injuries and any other psychiatric interventions deemed necessary by Mental Health Service Line management.

Preferred Experience: 3 years at the attending psychiatrist level, board certification by the ABPN in psychiatry, Maryland license to practice medicine.

Work Schedule: 8:00 am-4:30 pm (with flexibility)

Call Requirements: Approx every 12th weekend (in person rounding) and every 12th weeknight (by phone)

Location: VA Maryland Healthcare System

Occasional Travel: Yes

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: Up to $1000 per year if requirements are met.
Malpractice: Federal tort protection, essentially equivalent to free liability protection with tail coverage
  Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): 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. 

More about the area:

The VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) is a Level I tertiary multi campus teaching facility affiliated with the University of Maryland - School of Medicine and over 100 educational institutions. The VAMHCS is located in Baltimore, MD just off the Chesapeake Bay, about an hour’s drive north of Washington, D.C., and two hours south of Philadelphia. Award-winning dining is not hard to find, and cultural offerings include an internationally recognized symphony orchestra and art museums with works ranging from ancient to current-day artists. Baltimore also has a variety of performance venues, including the historic Hippodrome Theatre, a former vaudeville palace. The local arts scene reaches a mass audience during Artscape, an annual outdoor event that bills itself as the area's largest free arts festival. Support for Baltimore's professional sports teams bring residents together. Even on chilly winter afternoons or humid summer evenings, locals fill M&T Bank Stadium to cheer on the NFL's Ravens and flock to Camden Yards to root for the MLB's Orioles.

“Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. The VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing.   As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care.”