Job Description
Job Description
Position Title
Psychiatrist (Board Certified or Board Eligible) Contract Clinical Provider – Psychiatry Services
Position Purpose
The Contract Psychiatrist provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services to eligible veterans receiving care through the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) and affiliated Community‑Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).
The provider supplements VA Mental Health staff by ensuring:
- Timely access to psychiatric care
- Diagnosis and treatment of mental illness
- Continuity of care
- Compliance with VA wait‑time standards
Duty Location
Primary duty station:
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Blvd Houston, TX 77030
Secondary assignments may occur at:
- Beaumont CBOC
- Lufkin CBOC
- Conroe CBOC
- Galveston CBOC
- Katy CBOC
- Lake Jackson CBOC
- Richmond CBOC
- Texas City CBOC
- Tomball CBOC
Providers typically: Cover one assigned site and do not rotate between sites
Work Schedule
- Monday – Friday
- 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM CST
- Eight (8) hours per day
- Five (5) days per week
There is:
No on‑call requirement No weekend coverage No after‑hours duty No holiday coverage
Clinical Duties
Direct Patient Care (≈95% of time)
The Contract Psychiatrist shall:
- Conduct psychiatric evaluations and diagnostic assessments
- Develop individualized treatment plans
- Provide medication management
- Perform risk and suicide assessments
- Admit and manage inpatient psychiatric patients
- Coordinate discharge planning and follow‑up care
- See new referrals within VA access standards
- Provide care to severely mentally ill patients
- Conduct E‑consult reviews
- Provide post‑discharge follow‑up
- Maintain timely documentation in VA EHR (CPRS)
Expected daily workload: Approximately 6 – 6.5 bookable clinical hours per day (~6 one‑hour visits or 12 half‑hour visits)
Additional Clinical Responsibilities
The provider will:
- Interpret diagnostic test results
- Communicate findings per VHA Directive 1088
- Provide discharge education
- Coordinate interdisciplinary care
- Participate in peer review of selected cases
- Participate in mental health emergency scheduling
Administrative Duties (≈5% of time)
The Contract Psychiatrist shall:
- Attend weekly staff meetings
- Attend monthly Town Hall meetings
- Participate in Quality Improvement initiatives
- Participate in FPPE / OPPE evaluations
- Complete QA / QI documentation
- Report patient safety incidents within 24 hours
Documentation Responsibilities
All clinical care must be:
- Documented in VA Electronic Health Record
- Completed in accordance with:
- HIPAA
- Privacy Act
- FOIA
- VHA Directive 1907.01
Patient medical records are property of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Minimum Qualifications
The Contract Psychiatrist must:
- Be Board Certified or Board Eligible by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
- Current license to practice medicine in any U.S. State, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
- Maintain Basic Life Support (BLS) Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) or equivalency.
- Meet VA credentialing & privileging requirements
- Demonstrate technical proficiency in English
- Maintain CME requirements
Providers not eligible:
- Suspended
- Revoked
- Restricted licenses
Performance Expectations
Performance will be monitored via:
- FPPE / OPPE reviews
- Patient satisfaction surveys
- Documentation audits
- Time & attendance reviews
Key Performance Standards include:
Metric
Required Compliance
Clinical Quality Performance
≥ 95%
Scope of Practice Compliance
100%
Licensure Currency
100%
Patient Safety Reporting
100%
Mandatory Training Completion
≥ 95%
HIPAA Compliance
≥ 98%
On‑time Attendance
≥ 90%
On‑time Invoicing
≥ 95%
The VA reserves the right to: Refuse acceptance of any Contractor personnel whose conduct jeopardizes patient care or facility operations.
Reporting Structure
The Contract Psychiatrist reports to:
- Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)
- Chief of Mental Health Service
- MEDVAMC Medical Executive Board (credentialing)