Healthy Lifestyles Research Psychologist (F78330)

Healthy Lifestyles Researcher Psychologist Clinician (F78330; req7504)

Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism; Department of Pediatrics

Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU - Richmond, VA

Mission or Goal of Unit: The Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism manages the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, the region’s most comprehensive program for children with diabetes and other endocrine disorders. The center offers medical care, clinical trials, medical nutrition therapy, diabetes education, nurse navigator, social work, psychological support, all in one convenient location.  The Division is home to a robust clinical service, an accredited Fellowship Program in Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, and a thriving multidisciplinary research program in childhood obesity and clinical trials in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The mission is to improve the health of individuals and families through clinical care, research, education and public awareness as part of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. The Healthy Lifestyles Center, within the Division, is a comprehensive pediatric obesity treatment and research center, dedicated to advancing obesity research and clinical care for children, adolescents, and young adults.

Chief Purpose of this position:

This position is predominately focused on advancing the research mission of the division related to pediatric obesity, with additional contributions to psychological clinical services, teaching/supervision, and program development. This position should be eager to actively participate in ongoing research in the Division and develop their own programmatic line of research, under appropriate mentorship as relevant. Clinically, psychologists are integral to the HLC program, providing evidence based behavioral weight loss treatment, psychological treatment of psychiatric comorbidities, and pre-surgical psychological evaluations, in addition to post-surgical psychological care. To conduct research for/with patients with diabetes and other endocrine disorders and patients with obesity and related metabolic disorders.  As an integral component of the Healthy Lifestyle Center (HLC), this position will provide evidence based behavioral weight loss treatment, psychological treatment of psychiatric comorbidities, and pre-surgical psychological evaluations, in addition to post-surgical psychological care.

Candidates should be eager to advance their academic career in a collegial atmosphere in a growing Children’s Hospital.  The Division is home to a robust research and clinical service, an accredited Fellowship Program in Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, and a successful multidisciplinary research program in childhood obesity and clinical trials in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is the largest and most diverse university in the state and provides support for clinical research through the Office of Clinical Trials in the Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Clinical and Translational Research (CCTR) which is part of a national CTSA consortium and is supported by award No. UM1TR004360 [MB1] from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Science. The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU is a stand-alone children’s hospital with more than 50 subspecialists, a level IV NICU and a level 1 trauma center. We serve diverse populations throughout the Commonwealth.

Position Responsibilities: 

• Teaching: Teaching and training fellows, students, staff, and professionals, with regard to research, clinical evaluations, treatments, and program development
• Research: Faculty member will be expected to develop a program of research and be actively engaged in securing extramural funding.  Faculty member will support on-going funded research, apply for extramural grants, and participate in the dissemination of science and practice, including writing of articles and presentations.
• Service: Faculty member will serve on departmental or School of Medicine level committees when appropriate, as well as professional service through journal review, conference presentations, etc.
• Clinical:  Faculty member will serve as a Pediatric Psychologist for the Departments of Pediatrics. Clinical duties will include providing evidence-based psychological and health and behavioral interventions to children, adolescents and young adults with obesity and other endocrine disorders as part of an interdisciplinary team in the ambulatory care setting. Team members include physicians, dietitians, exercise physiologists, nurses, surgeons, and obesity medicine specialists. As a member of the Healthy Lifestyles team, the psychologist will evaluate and provide outpatient clinical services to patients with eating and weight disorders in this tertiary care center. Services will include consults; diagnostic interviews; individual, group and family psychotherapy; and assessments, including pre-bariatric surgery psychological assessments. This individual will function as a core member of the interdisciplinary weight management and endocrine teams. Timely preparation and submission of documentation including reports, clinical interviews, and progress notes; key member of the interdisciplinary teams; liaison between psychology staff, referring professionals, patient, and family; maintenance of practice credentials and completion of education as required by hospital, university, and state practice organization.

 Required Qualifications: 

• Doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA or CPA-approved program, including an APA or CPA-approved internship.
• Completion of a postdoctoral clinical child, pediatric or health psychology fellowship as indicated by 12 months supervised post-graduate experience in these practice settings.
• Strong research training and skills, with specific expertise in pediatric obesity research and clinical care.
• Excellent writing skills as indicated by co-authorship of peer-reviewed manuscript(s) focused on youth or young adults, grant submissions and other scholarly work (presentations).
• Experience with evidence-based family-based behavioral weight management with children, adolescents and young adults; experience with working with the youth and young adults with chronic illness and their families.
• Competence and expertise with psychological assessment, psychological and behavioral therapies, family education and support, and chronic illness management.
• Experience with children, adolescents, young adults, and families.
• A Virginia state licensure or license eligibility and board certification eligibility.
• Effective oral and written communications, leadership skills and is a U.S. citizen or work eligible.
• Ability to work in a team environment is essential.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• History of funded research.
• Experience providing and developing patient education and support programs.
• Experience as a clinical supervisor or teacher.

#LI-KB1

The Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Pediatrics is dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate, state-of-the-art pediatric health care, research and education at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, a full-service children’s hospital within the VCU Medical Center. CHoR offers a robust continuum of pediatric services, research and education, and is the region’s only full-service children’s hospital. CHoR provides emergency, primary, secondary, advanced, tertiary and long-term care. CHoR has 11 locations across Central Virginia and provides more than 42 pediatric medical/surgical services.

There is energy and momentum around advancing children’s health in Richmond, and we have marked a new milestone. Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU recently opened a multi-story, high-tech ambulatory pavilion for pediatric services.  The new facility will meet the growing need for outpatient services for children in our community.

CHoR's outpatient pavilion is the largest, most advanced outpatient facility dedicated to children in the region. The new pavilion includes diagnostic and treatment services for children, bringing together the majority of outpatient pediatric services currently on the MCV campus to one location. It is designed to meet the unique health care needs of children, and to provide Richmond the most advanced and coordinated care possible:

The facility is a 640,000 square foot, multi-story building and includes a 7-story parking deck with more than 600 spaces.
The new pavilion houses 72 exam rooms arranged in clinic pods to optimize a multidisciplinary care model. Each pod includes 12 exam rooms, a treatment room, support space and a centralized clinical team.
The new pavilion features pediatric-dedicated imaging, surgical and endoscopy procedure rooms, as well as pediatric faculty offices.
The pavilion is designed with future expansion in mind. It can accommodate additional clinic pods and operating rooms, as demand for these services increases.

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

When we break ground on a new facility, it’s about more than bricks and mortar. It’s just like we tell our children— it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Over the past three years, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU has increased pediatric faculty to more than 130 clinicians focused on 42 specialty areas and providing access to children’s health care from more than 11 locations throughout the region. It’s these dedicated physicians and an extensive network of pediatric-trained nurses, child-life specialists, therapists, social workers and ancillary medical staff, who will continue providing health care designed especially for children.