Physician Psychiatrist

A Staff Psychiatrist at the Syracuse VA Medical Center has a number of responsibilities:

1. They are charged with delivering the best possible Medical care to our veteran patients. Care must be delivered in accordance with hospital policy and meet community standards for both inpatients and outpatients.
2. They are expected to maintain current knowledge and procedural skills. They must be able to deliver full service throughout the full spectrum of care within their area of expertise and within their scope of privileging; i.e. they are expected to maintain good diagnostic judgmental and therapeutic acumen for hospitalized patients as well as outpatients.
3. This involves supervision of residents fellows and students in your specific area of expertise (specialty or subspecialty). Residents and fellows often serve as the first responder in Veteran the event of no or inadequate resident/fellow availability the staff physician will be the first to see the patient.
4. The Psychiatrist has ultimate decision making capacity and ultimate responsibility for the care rendered. This control will be exercised in an educationally appropriate way with the entire team of residents fellows students mid-level providers in accordance with VA policies regarding supervision etc.
5. Each Psychiatrist is expected to function as a cooperative and collegial team member with their entire department across the different disciplines and collaborate with other departments as necessary for the best possible outcomes for all Veteran patients. Psychiatrists are expected to take part in the on call schedule where this is specified as part of the duties. The frequency of call depends on the number of psychiatrists on the call schedule and therefore may vary from year to year.
6. Teaching is considered a major duty of all VA staff physicians. This pertains to colleagues residents fellows medical and nursing students nursing and other ancillary staff.
7. All physicians will attend and actively participate in their respective monthly department staff meetings as well as the regularly held Quarterly Medical Staff meeting for all VA staff physicians and where relevant specialty specific educational conferences.
8. All physicians are to participate in the educational activities and academic obligations of our University Affiliate SUNY Upstate Medical University.
9. All Psychiatrists are expected to comply with the Syracuse VA Medical Center Bylaws.
10. Psychiatrists are expected to serve on peer review and other committees as requested by the Medical Center Director Chief of Staff BVAC Care Line Manager Lead Psychiatrist or President of the Medical Staff. There may be non-committee peer review or quality assurance duties that are required on an occasional basis.
11. All medical staff are expected to comply with licensing credentialing privileging cyber security and other requirements of the VHA and the Syracuse VA Medical Center.
12. Computer access privileges must be maintained according to policy and all medical records and relevant documentation will be completed timely via CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System) in accordance with local and regional VA regulations the VHA policies and procedures as they apply at the Syracuse Medical Center as well as Joint Commission standards

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

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.
Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): This position is eligible for EDRP a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval award amount (up to $200000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.


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 $1000 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: Full Time M -F as per clinic hours

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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• 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) 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.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019