Lead Psychiatrist for Innovation in Psychiatric Care

Description:

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Supervised by: Agency Medical Director

About DESC:

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION:

We are hiring for a new role for a psychiatrist who is excited about working with a wonderful multidisciplinary behavioral health team, pushing the boundaries of what high-quality care for vulnerable populations can be, and engaging in continuous process improvement. The ideal candidate is someone who enjoys direct clinical work, and, in partnership with other medical and clinical leaders at DESC, will help us to explore how to implement under-used evidence-based practices in a manner that drives positive, measurable behavioral health outcomes. Enjoying the iterative process that comes with such a goal is a must.

This position will have 0.8 FTE direct clinical time in-clinic and outreach-based (most with a longitudinal comprehensive outpatient behavioral health team and some focused more specifically on opioid use disorder care) and 0.2 FTE supporting care delivery design, implementing, support and evaluation. This role will partner closely with the DESC Agency Medical Director, the Outpatient Psychiatric Provider Supervisor, the Director of Nursing, the Senior Medical Leads for the Opioid Recovery and Care Access (ORCA) programs and Crisis Solutions Center (CSC), Medical Department Senior Operations Manager, and other senior leaders within the medical and clinical departments. As currently envisioned, this role will not have any supervisory responsibilities.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Direct client care duties:

• 4 days per week in direct client care
• Coordinate client care within a multidisciplinary behavioral health team
• Perform psychiatric evaluations, establish treatment plans collaboratively with clients, prescribe and monitor medications as indicated; this is inclusive of opioid use disorder treatment; all in context of a multidisciplinary team.
• At times, provide care via field-based outreach to clients in shelters, permanent supportive housing buildings or other locations, as indicated
• Participate in program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients as indicated
• Take initiative to meet the changing needs of community behavioral health treatment.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation in emergent situations and be able and willing to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe, secure environment.
• Other duties as assigned.

Clinical program support duties:

• Collaborate with senior medical and clinical leaders at DESC in designing systems-changes, trainings or workflows to allow for a greater use of underused psychiatric interventions. Candidates do not necessarily need expertise in these interventions, but must have a willingness to learn, explore and partner with DESC leaders on the appropriateness and feasibility of implementation. Such interventions include, but are not limited to, clozapine, xanomeline + trospium, TMS referrals, ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, GLP-1RAs, contingency management. For some initiatives, the candidate will be the primary driver of change management.
• Participate in routine leadership meetings
• Engage with data and informatics team on building ways to measure and track meaningful metrics of care related to existing services and new innovations or care delivery changes
• Engage with scholarly work opportunities if interested and as they arise

Requirements:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Active Washington State Department of Health license as a physician.
• Registration with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
• Board certification in psychiatry, licensed in the State of Washington with the Department of Health in good standing.
• Board certification in addiction medicine, or ability to obtain within 12 months of hire.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.
• Knowledge, skill, and proficiency in working with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
• Advanced knowledge and experience prescribing psychiatric medications
• Be able to pass a Washington State Criminal background check.
• Knowledge of harm reduction principles and strategies.
• Ability and interest in providing case consultations with a multi-disciplinary staff.
• Ability to remain open and receptive to constructive feedback.
• Ability to communicate with and coordinate with staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of psychiatric behaviors.
• Interest in change management and process improvement.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with buprenorphine prescribing
• Experience with clozapine prescribing and management
• Experience in and strong skills in teaching and education
• Experience working in atypical health care settings (e.g., street outreach, housing, day centers, jails, etc.)
• Experience with process improvement and implementation of new ideas or interventions

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required sit for long periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace, and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

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