Career Center
Perry Point, Maryland
Bountiful, Utah
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Alexandria, Virginia
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Las Vegas, Nevada
Posted: 19-May-23
Location: Perry Point, Maryland
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Sector:
Internal Number: 1143329
Join the most noble mission in healthcare. Help Veterans thrive!
At the VA Maryland Health Care System, you can make a difference in the lives of Veterans and their families while you advance your career.
The Psychiatry Physician Assistant (PA) is responsible for the care and administrative needs of mental health patients in the residential treatment setting. The PA must be able to treat patients with primary addiction issues as well as dually diagnosed (mental illness and substance abuse) patients. The PA must be comfortable managing patients in sub-acute withdrawal from opioids, alcohol, and benzodiazepines. The Psychiatry PA will work under the supervision of the Staff Psychiatrist responsible for oversight of the VAMHCS MHCC residential treatment units. They will provide direct care to Veterans in this setting, including evaluation, medication assessment, and crisis evaluation. The Psychiatry PA will collaborate with the inpatient psychiatry team, including but not limited to psychiatrists, social workers, and nurses to determine course of treatment.
Preferred Experience: At least 5 years experience working full time as a Psychiatric PA and treating patients with substance use disorders.
The PA may perform the following duties:
1. Conduct initial psychiatric evaluations, including initial assessment interviews, history and physical exams; lab, imaging, medication and psychotherapy consultation orders, aftercare plans and follow up visits. Following the initial evaluation, the PA will provide appropriate follow up care including reassessments of diagnoses and conditions, medication adjustments, and any further tests or consults indicated.
2. Provide mental health education /counseling and brief therapy of patients and their families.
3. Primary responsibility for care of patients when the attending is absent.
4. Conduct ongoing follow up appointments for stable patients, including regular refills of medications, required lab and other tests and documenting progress.
5. Perform examinations and screening scales (such as AIMS, MoCA, HAM-D) and similar non-invasive examinations specific to the ongoing care of psychiatric patients
6. Ordering appropriate laboratory tests, imaging studies, EKGs (electrocardiograms), and similar noninvasive tests
7. Initiating and expediting consultation requests and scheduling special tests and studies
8. Drawing blood specimens for testing, and obtaining other body fluid samples requiring comparably low levels of invasiveness
9. Making rounds for inpatients, and holding scheduled appointments for outpatients to observe and record patients' medical progress, and notifying the collaborating physician of significant changes in patients' condition
10. Providing education and counseling of the patient and the patient's family in preventive care, medical conditions, and the use of prescribed treatments and medications
11. Performing preventive health activities (including intradermal testing)
12. Recording notes on all procedures performed for which the PA is responsible
13. Conducting educational groups
14. Perform treatment planning in an outpatient or inpatient setting.
15. Integrate the activities of the psychiatry clinic/ward with other patient care programs at the facility.
Work Schedule: 8:30AM-4:30PM
Call Requirements: None
Time Off:
We know you value personal time to spend with your loved ones or pursue your interests.
- 13 to 26 days of paid annual leave
- 13 sick days annually, with unlimited accumulation
- 11 paid federal holidays
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave
- Up to 15 days of leave for active reservists and National Guard members
Flexibility:
Life happens — and sometimes it happens between 9-5 or on another coast.
- Work-from-home options
- Flexible scheduling
- Work anywhere in the U.S. with one active license
- Choose from any of our 1,300 facilities
- Change locations without losing benefits or salary
Insurance Options:
Whether protecting you personally or professionally, VA insurance coverage is unparalleled.
- Comprehensive federal health insurance for life
- Up to 75% of health premiums paid
- Group life insurance for you and eligible family members
- Long-term care coverage for home care, adult day care, and facility care
- Flexible savings accounts to pay for health care expenses, tax-free
- Free medical malpractice insurance for health care providers
Retirement:
Prepare for the next stage in your life with federally supported retirement options.
- Access to the Federal Employees Retirement System
- Eligible for monthly retirement benefits after just 5 years of federal service
- Supplement your retirement with the tax-deferred Thrift Savings Plan, similar to a 401(k)
- Long-term disability benefits after 18 months of service
- Add VA benefits to your full military retirement pay or pension
Competitive Compensation:
- Strong starting salaries, steady growth, and incentives
- Employment incentives, including recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances
- Regular performance-based increases and accelerated increases for outstanding performance
- Premium pay rates for overtime, weekend, holiday, on-call, and night work
- Incentive awards like superior performance awards, special contribution awards, quality step increases, and VA honor awards
About the area:
The Perry Point VA Medical Center is located on a beautiful campus of approximately 400 acres on the banks of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay where you can enjoy a variety of recreational activities, including fishing, swimming, bicycling, and jogging. There is ample, free parking on the grounds of the medical center, which is conveniently located just off of I-95 and U.S. Route 40.
