Physician (BHIP Psychiatrist Dual Diagnosis)

Position Background:

Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) in scenic sunny Tucson, Arizona is currently looking for an physician – BHIP psychiatrist dual diagnosis.   

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) is the principal teaching affiliate of the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Medical students, residents, and fellows train at our facility. The selected candidate must also be eligible for a faculty appointment with the University of Arizona.
It offers a beautiful 150-acre campus with a full range of medical and mental health services for Veterans, including a 31-bed inpatient psychiatry unit, a 25-bed mental health residential rehabilitation program, intensive outpatient programs, homeless programs, and more. Tucson is a great place to live for families, people who enjoy outdoor activities (hiking, cycling, running, etc.) and those who enjoy rich culture and an affiliation with a world class University. Tucson truly is a city with a friendly, small-town feel.

The following are a list of duties that may include but are not limited to the following:

As a Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) psychiatrist at the SAVAHCS you will provide outpatient care to Veterans with mental health and substance use disorders as part of an integrated team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and clinical pharmacists.

Our psychiatrists have an assigned Care Coordinator who triages walk-in patients, answers patient phone calls, and serves as a physician extender as appropriate.

Intakes are scheduled for 60 minutes, follow ups are 30 minutes. Our psychiatrists are scheduled for 6 clinical hours per day. Call is limited to 3-4 weeks per year of home call (psychiatry resident is first call) and in-house rounding on the weekend. Weekend days are compensated by having weekdays off. Alternative working conditions be considered.

Teaching opportunities with the University of Arizona Medical School are available.

Work Schedule: Full-time, permanent, tour of duty to be determined by service line.

Requirements:

• Must be board certified in psychiatry.
• Must have an active and unrestricted license in any of the US States
• Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine.
• Completion of Residency program in Psychiatry

Preferred Experience: Experience in outpatient setting working with a variety of mental health disorders and substance use; experience working with Veterans and/or active duty military

Compensation and Benefits:

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

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

$245,000 - $260,000 per year salary range

Paid-Time Off: 50–55 days of annual paid-time offer per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 days 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).

CME:  Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement.

Malpractice:  Free liability protection with tail coverage provided.

Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restrictions on moonlighting.

The Tucson VA Medical Center is a 295-bed hospital that provides training, primary care, and sub-specialty health care in numerous medical areas for eligible Veterans. It is the "Flagship" for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS), which serves over 170,000 veterans located in eight counties in Southern Arizona comprised of the medical center in Tucson, Arizona and seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Casa Grande, Green Valley, Safford, Sierra Vista, Yuma, Northwest, and Southeast Tucson.

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