Chief psychiatrist (education debt repayment and sign on bonus)

Summary

The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Approved for highly competitive applicants.

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): APPROVED! Learn more.

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases.

Duties

THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION. The Chief of Psychiatry will split time between administrative/supervisory duties (49%) and clinical duties (51%). Duties include but are not limited to:

• Participate in Mental Health meetings, leadership meetings, and facility committees as a representative of Mental Health Service and/or Psychiatry Service as requested.
• Management and Supervision of staff within Psychiatry Service.
• Provide clinical services as a Psychiatrist to patients including but not limited to assessing, diagnosing, and treating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders as per facility expectations and as assigned.
• Completion of proficiency reports, personnel actions, recruitment and retention, and all related personnel tasks with support and guidance from the ACOS for Mental health.
• Admit, evaluate, diagnose, treat, and provide consultation to adult patients, presenting with mental, behavioral, addictive or emotional disorders.
• Provide consultation regarding mental, behavioral, or emotional disorders; pharmacotherapy; psychotherapy; family therapy; behavior modification; consultation to the courts; and emergency psychiatry, as well as the ordering of diagnostic, laboratory tests, and prescribing medications.
• Supervise and ensure quality and timely completion in oversight of Compensation and Pension Mental Health evaluations.
• Provide Mental Health oversight to National Utilization Management Integration (NUMI) to complete appropriate and timely clinical reviews of ongoing acute psychiatric admissions.
• Development, implementation and oversight of operational policies and procedures for Psychiatry Service.
• Serve as the Psychiatry Resident Clinical Training Director for all approved Battle Creek VAMC affiliations with accredited Psychiatry training programs.
• Serve as a member of the Mental Health leadership team, including providing coverage for the ACOS for Mental Health as needed.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Approved!

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized Learn more.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

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.

Typical Work schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Per VA Handbook 5011/25, Part II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 13: Covered full-time physicians are subject to call at all times unless officially excused. This requirement applies 24/7. May be required to provide weekend, evening, or night coverage for urgent care or inpatient units when other coverage options are unavailable.

Requirements

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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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.

Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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),
• (2) OR Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),
• (3) OR 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.

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

Physical Requirements: For more information on the physical requirements of this position, please reference VHA Handbook 5019.

Education: 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:

• Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
• 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.

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.

Additional information: This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits.

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

Pay: Education and length of practice are considered through a formal pay-setting process to determine the final compensable salary (Base Pay + Market Pay).

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.

Review our benefits. Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.