Login

Psychiatrist

Veterans Health Administration | Pottsville, PA

Posted Date 5/07/2025
Description This position is located within the Behavioral Health and Sciences clinical setting that fall under Lebanon VA Med Center's BH&S clinic locations. Incumbent will practice in the provision of psychiatrist services consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate.The primary duties of the Psychiatrist include:
  1. Psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, treatment and treatment planning for Veterans and others eligible for care through the VA
  2. Psychiatry resident education/teaching activities; as well as education of residents of other disciplines, and students of allied health fields
  3. Participation in Physician Peer Reviews
  4. Participation in facility committees as assigned
  5. Participation in Performance Improvement Programs
  6. Participation in the on call schedule
Major duties and responsibilities include:
  1. 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.
  2. Provides a full range of diagnostic/therapeutic interventions including psychiatric diagnostic assessment, medication evaluation and management, suicide risk assessments, crisis intervention, and overall care of patients with psychiatric disorders in assigned clinical setting/s (i.e. inpatient, consultation & liaison, emergency department, residential care, outpatient program, etc.
  3. 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.
  4. Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care.
  5. The Psychiatrist may serve as a mental health team leader with responsibilities for coordinating consults and triage of specialty clinic referrals.
  6. Participates effectively in team meetings and treatment planning conferences and collaborates with multidisciplinary team members that enhances coordination of comprehensive patient care.
  7. Orders diagnostic tests and consultations and discriminates between normal and abnormal findings and makes appropriate treatment decisions.
  8. 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.
  9. Areas which the psychiatrist is assigned and has clinical privileges to practice may include depression, anxiety, psychosis/psychotic disorders, PTSD, substance use disorder, and other psychiatric disorders in primarily outpatient clinical settings.
  10. Maintain the ability to prescribe Suboxone.
  11. Participate in the on-call and walk-in rounds in inpatient on a rotational schedule.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Psychiatrist /PD000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
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.
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.
  • Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology) OR;
  • Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (1) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (2) The specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship OR;
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
  • Internship: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed OR;
  • New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern ORVHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre-1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement OR;
  • Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) OR;
  • Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.
  • Licensure: Hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
  • Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade for a period not to exceed two years.
  • English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English
Grade Determinations:

Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines.2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.
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:
  1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
  2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.
  3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate 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.
Salary145,000.00 - 300,000.00 Annual

Share this job