Psychiatrist

Duties for the Psychiatrist at VA Bedford Healthcare System will include the following:

• Providing mental health evaluation, psychopharmacology and brief motivational treatments to veterans served in Outpatient and Consultation settings.
• Providing curbside consultation to non-mental health clinicians; providing medical and diagnostic expertise and support as needed
• Implementing and improving Emergency procedures (i.e. suicidal patients).
• Maintaining continual accessibility during working hours via cell phone and beeper for emergent clinical needs or urgent clinical consultations.
• Providing group and individual supervision to support and educate staff and assigned trainees.
• Collaborating in performing program evaluations and analysis for quality management.
• Bearing overall responsibility for the MH treatment of the patient: evaluating and providing optimal treatment, referring to other providers, coordinating with other providers seeing the same patient, seeking consultation when necessary, and approaching treatment within the entire context of available services at this VAMC and other facilities.
• Managing cases efficiently, including thoughtful goal-setting, appointment scheduling, timely completion of requested letters or forms, and terminating treatment or referring to other levels of care when appropriate.
• Working effectively with colleagues within our interdisciplinary care system (both within and outside of the MHSL).
• Involving supervisors, Quality Management, VA Police, and Hospital Administration when appropriate, using appropriate protection of patient information.
• Contributing to an effective quality management system which includes process improvement, innovative system redesign, self-assessment and peer review
• As an expert in communication, arranging to be as available as possible to patients, colleagues, and other staff by keeping contact and schedule information of all kinds updated and fully available.
• Contributing consistently to evidence-based public health interventions such as screening and follow-up of medical and mental health conditions.
• Participating in our academic mission, including participation in Grand Rounds, teaching of medical students and psychiatry residents.
• Being familiar with Medical Staff Rules & Regulations, Hospital Bylaws, Medical Center, MH, and Psychiatry memos, and state law applicable to MH duties.

Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (Bedford VA)

200 Springs Rd.
Bedford, MA 01730
Facility Picture
The Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, MA provides services in such areas as: Geriatrics, with specialty care in Alzheimer's Disease, Mental Health, including homelessness, substance abuse and Compensated Work Therapy and Ambulatory Care. The hospital was founded in 1928 chartered by Congress to provide a variety of health services to Veterans. The hospital currently offers six service lines including: Ambulatory Care, Mental Health, Geriatrics & Extended Care, Geriatrics Research Education & Clinical Center (GRECC), Clinical Support, and Administrative Support. The Hospital also offers Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) in Lynn, Haverhill, and Gloucester.

Affiliations:
Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health
Lahey Clinic
Department of Defense (DoD)

Authorized Beds:
65 Hospital Beds
345 Nursing Home Beds
40 Domicilliary Beds
52 PRRTP Beds

Type of Facility:
Geriatric Care / Psychiatry

Special Programs:
Primary and secondary care in medicine and sub-acute medical care.
Includes: The Mental Health Intensive Case Management Program (MHICM), and,
The Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC)
Social And Community Reintegration Research (SoCRR)

Services Provided:

Nursing Home Care
Substance Abuse
Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Care
Outpatient Mental Health
Alzheimer's inpatient and outpatient care
Homeless Veteran Services

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 2025, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $23,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $31,000.
• 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