Psychiatry Chief in Colorful Colorado – Sign on bonus + Relocation $

The Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (VAMC) is seeking a full-time, supervisory Psychiatrist to join our team in Grand Junction, Colorado. In this on-site role, you will lead a team of talented and dedicated healthcare partners in the treatment of a diverse patient base of our Western Colorado Veteran population. Services include inpatient and outpatient services for multiple psychiatric disorders.

Duties and responsibilities include clinical and administrative: Alongside your team, you will perform psychiatric evaluations, therapeutic interventions, diagnostic assessments, medication evaluation and management, suicide risk assessments, and overall care of patients with psychiatric disorders. You will serve as a mental health team leader for coordinating consults and triage of specialty clinic referrals. Your Admin responsibilities will include development and oversight of programs and procedures within Mental Health and work alongside the Service Chief for a seat at the table to ensure effectiveness of policies and procedures for the department. You may also participate in the supervision and teaching to support the psychiatric residency program.

Basic Requirements:

• Medical Doctor (MD or DO) and Certification with active and unrestricted DEA license to prescribe medication
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in any US state
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed US residency training
• Demonstrated multidisciplinary experience with inpatient and outpatient care services in acute Psychiatric settings
• Preferred experience: 2+ years of managerial, supervisory experience in a clinical setting
• On-call duty is required as a part of this role

Position Highlights:

Strong work/life balance at a mid-sized facility with a strong patient focus

Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 annual leave, 13 sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays, and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)

Education Reimbursement: Eligible for reimbursement of education costs

Excellent Federal Benefits:

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5-year vest) 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

No Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday: 8:00am-4:30pm (can vary)

Compensation: Competitive base salary + sign-on bonus + annual bonus range $300k - $336k. Financial assistance for relocation is available. Student loan reimbursement program if meet eligibility requirements.

About Grand Junction, Colorado and the VA Medical Center:

The Grand Junction VAMC services those who serve our country providing critical medical services including acute and chronic inpatient and outpatient care. The facility consists of 53-bed capabilities for surgical procedures, specialty care, psychiatric in/outpatient services, as well as a Community Living Center, and social programs and services. The service area encompasses western Colorado and eastern Utah regions and includes the primary VAMC plus four satellite clinics.

Grand Junction is an outdoor recreational hub; a medium-size metro area set in the high desert and mesas of the Rocky Mountains. Come enjoy the majestic beauty and mild climate of the western Colorado canyons and countryside. Recognized as 2024’s #1 Best Place to Live in Colorado by USA Today, Grand Junction is worth checking out.

 VAMC Grand Junction serves veterans on the western slope of Colorado, southeastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming. In addition to our main medical center in Grand Junction, we offer a number of services to our patients in four community-based outpatient clinics.

 The Grand Junction VA Medical Center (VAMC) serves 37,000 veterans residing on the Western Slope. The VAMC consists of one facility located in the city of Grand Junction; a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Montrose, serving the southwestern Colorado counties; and a telehealth outreach clinic in Craig, serving northwestern Colorado and southwestern Wyoming.

The VAMC operates 53 beds comprised of 23 acute care and 30 Transitional Care Unit beds. The VAMC provides primary and secondary care including acute medical, surgical, and psychiatric inpatient services, as well as a full range of outpatient services.

The VAMC was the recipient of the 2001 Presidential Award for Quality and the 1999 Robert W. Carey Quality Award Trophy. It is the first and only organization ever in VA to earn the Presidential Award for Quality. 
 

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service

251 miles W. of Denver, 169 miles N. of Durango

Grand Junction is an excellent jumping-off point for those who want to drive or hike through the awe-inspiring red-rock canyons and sandstone monoliths of Colorado National Monument, explore the canyons at Dinosaur National Monument (about 2 hr. north), or sip and savor in the wine country of Palisade, just a short drive east.

Grand Junction is also the eastern entrance to one of the West's most scenic and challenging mountain-biking treks, Kokopelli's Trail, which ends in Moab, Utah. For the less athletically inclined, Grand Junction has an active visual-arts community, good museums, and a fine botanical garden.

Located at the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado rivers at an elevation of 4,586 feet, the city was founded in 1882 where the spike was driven to connect Denver and Salt Lake City by rail. It quickly became the primary trade and distribution center between the two state capitals, and its mild climate, together with the fertile soil and irrigation potential of the river valleys, helped it grow into an important agricultural area. Soybeans, and later peaches and pears, were the most important crops. The city was also a center of the western Colorado uranium boom in the 1950s and the oil-shale boom in the late 1970s, and today is a fast-growing trade center serving practically all of western Colorado and eastern Utah.