Clarification from the agency

Open to Current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs (Agency - VHA, VBA, NCA) Employees, Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Psychiatrist is responsible for the direct supervision of all professional behavioral health staff assigned to the SUD/IOP program. They have direct administrative responsibilities over the day-to-day operation of this program in alignment with the guidelines set forth in the Uniform Mental Health handbook of the program. The Psychiatrist is a licensed staff physician and practice independently in the provision of medical services, consulting, and providing clinical supervision to trainees as appropriate. The staff Psychiatrist (physician) for whom this scope of practice applies is administratively assigned to the Mental Health and Behavioral Health Sciences Services and responds to the PCMHI & Specialty Care Clinics (SUD & MHTRC) Section Chief, with regards to the administrative and clinical duties as manager of the SUD/IOP Program.

Additional Duties Include But Not Limited To:

• The incumbent manages the day-to-day operations of the program regarding issues such as coverage, clinic profiles, and environment of care.
• Manages the program time and attendance through approval or disapproval of annual, sick, authorized absence, and other leaves.
• Responsible for monitoring and improving patient flow to the program to allow for efficient scheduling and for assuring same day access to care for New and Established Patients.
• Receives, assigns, and/or monitors the consults, same day referrals, and care transitions (CPRS consults, referrals to other and from other services) of Veterans enrolled in his/her program.
• Works actively with program Staff and schedulers (HAS) as well as HAS leadership in procedures regarding clinic utilization and scheduling to avoid missed opportunities and no-show rate.
• Assures that treatment teams within his/her program carry out all patient care related meetings such as huddles, treatment planning, monthly interdisciplinary meetings and other required meetings.
• Supervises and monitors all staff regarding completion of required documentation and progress notes.
• Assists the Senior manager in assuring that staff within his program can follow all standard operating procedures established for this program.
• Understands and interprets data provided in essential performance reports (e.g. clinic utilization, caseload, productivity, and performance measures.
• Can share relevant data with staff under his/her supervision, identify barriers, and promote improvement as needed.
• Manages and directs the work of program staff to accomplish program goals and objectives as well as program's performance measures and performance improvement activities.
• Active collaboration in providing a work environment that fosters psychological safety while assuring compliance with VA performance measures and VHA organization goals.
• Foster the utilization of evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines and ability to guide staff in using these tools.
• Assists the Section Chief in identifying operational challenges within the program and proposes and/or develops action plans to resolve these.
• Manages matters of patient safety, and management of patients' and staff complaints, management of clinical offerings, and other clinical and operational challenges.
• Conduct service recovery activities as needed and in a timely manner.
• Delegates' program responsibilities among program staff as needed to secure appropriate clinical and administrative operations.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V8_EDRP_SanJuan@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more.
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

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, with rotating tours of duty as needed.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

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.
• Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR
  [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.
  Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience:

• Clinical experience providing services to Substance Use Disorder population.
• Supervisory experience.
• Board Certified for Psychiatrist (Physician) Board Certified for psychiatrist (physician) and Addiction Psychiatry Board Certified.
  Board Certified for psychiatrist (physician) and Addiction Psychiatry Board Certified.
  and Addiction Psychiatry Board Certified.

Required Selective Placement Factor (SPF): Must be proficient in spoken and written English and Spanish.

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

Physical Requirements: Must pass a pre-employment physical examination as required by VA Handbook 5019. This examination is administered by VA Occupational Health. This position requires moderate lifting up to 44 lbs., carrying objects up to 15 lbs., frequent reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, hands and legs, use of cranes and motor vehicles, walking & standing up to 8 hours, bending and climbing and able to hear whisper. The incumbent must be physically, emotionally and mentally stable in order to efficiently perform the essential functions of this position without hazard to themselves or others.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Area of Consideration-Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA Employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

To apply for this position, you must submit a C.V. and/or resume. Other documents may be requested later in the process if needed.

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

Next steps