Deputy Director of Psychiatry, Correctional Health Services

Work Shifts

Time: 8a-4:00p

Days: Mon -Fri

Facility: Trailer 1 facility on Rikers Island

Duties & Responsibilities

This full-time position reports to the Medical Director of Mental Health in the Division of Correctional Health Services and is responsible for the clinical oversight, management, supervision, and innovative development of the clinical staff in the jail facilities in New York City.

The Deputy Director of Psychiatry will focus on the daily operations of the Psychiatric service and assist the Medical Director in supporting the professional development of the Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists and Psychiatric providers in each of the facilities. The Deputy Director of Psychiatry will also work in close collaboration with other managers of the Mental Health service to ensure that a mission-driven, high quality, and innovative standard of psychiatric care is provided to patients with varying levels of mental health needs. A team-based approach to care that incorporates all relevant mental health and medical disciplines as well as security staff is critical to this role. A major component of this position is training, recruitment, and retention of high-quality staff and provision of strong leadership and mentorship for existing staff.
Responsibilities Include:

• Promote the highest possible quality of Psychiatric care for incarcerated patients through supervision and education of staff, participation in quality improvement and safety initiatives, development of workflows and policies, and management of psychiatric personnel.
• Collaborate with the Medical Director, Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists, and other Mental Health managers to assist in the design, implementation, ongoing review, and monitoring of relevant clinical procedures, policies, and operating manuals.
• Assist the Medical Director with clinical supervision of relevant psychiatric providers, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric physician assistants.
• Develop and utilize tools of clinical surveillance to ensure consistent high-quality psychiatric care by psychiatric providers across facilities.
• Develop and implement staff trainings and other educational measures to promote consistent performance and standards of clinical excellence among psychiatric staff.
• Assist the Medical Director with personnel management of clinical staff, including setting quality standards, establishing effective recruitment and retention strategies, monitoring and ensuring staff efficiency, and managing workforce complaints.
• When necessary, implement performance improvement plans and disciplinary action for staff, including assisting Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists with this process.
• Educate clinical staff about new developments regarding best practices in all aspects of psychiatric care, with specific attention to the challenges and issues facing jail settings (e.g., influence of legal case, dual loyalty, medication diversion).
• Ensure service-wide compliance with all regulatory standards.
• In collaboration with the Medical Director and Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists, recruit, interview, and assist in the hiring of new psychiatric prescribers and oversee their orientation.
• Communicate workflow changes and relevant policy changes to any affected psychiatric staff.
• In collaboration with the Medical Director, CHS Central Operations, and other psychiatric leadership, help manage: clinical schedules, vacation requests, CME activity requests, time-off requests, and other relevant activities as they pertain to psychiatric staff.
• Serve as a primary administrative liaison and representative for the Psychiatry service. Collaborate interdepartmentally as needed.
• Track and monitor on an ongoing basis the staffing needs of all facilities for the Psychiatry service, and ensure optimized staffing assignments.
• Daily collaboration with the Operations Department to ensure that all facilities are adequately staffed with psychiatric prescribers.
• Daily collaboration with facility Senior and Supervising Psychiatrists and psychiatric providers to ensure the timely completion of medication renewals.
• Review all non-formulary requests for facilities that do not have an active Supervising or Senior Psychiatrist and cover other related managerial duties for such.
• Assist the pharmacy with any prescribing errors/issues that arise if unable to be resolved by the primary provider.
• Oversee and coordinate the e-prescribing of medication for Mental Health patients being discharged to the community or to residential programs, and serve as a liaison between prescribers and discharge planners.
• Serve as a liaison between Rikers Island facilities to ensure clinical continuity and appropriate patient care and escalation as needed.
• Serve as a liaison between Rikers Island facilities and Bellevue/Elmhurst/other hospitals to assist in the transfer of patients requiring a higher level of care and their return to Rikers Island upon hospital discharge.
• Review documentation by psychiatric staff to ensure the consistent provision of high-quality care.
• Provide, as needed, direct clinical care and direct supervision of psychiatric trainees.
• Review the Uniform Notifications and Targeted Evaluations to assess the documentation of incidents involving patients engaging in self-injurious behaviors.
• Report on an as-needed basis to the CHS Morbidity and Mortality review committee.
• Participate in psychiatric provider meetings and didactics in collaboration with the Medical Director.
• On-call responsibilities, at intervals to be determined, for off-hours issues that require high level clinical or administrative intervention.
• Other duties at the discretion of the Medical Director for Psychiatry or the Chief of Service.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must have all of the following:
1. Graduation from a medical school approved by the Council on Medical Education and
Hospitals of the American Medical Association.
2. Completion of an acceptable internship in an approved hospital.
3. A license to practice medicine in the State of New York.
4. Certification by American Board in field of specialization or a faculty appointment of Associate Professor or higher in a medical school recognized by the American Medical Association.
5. Eight (8) years of satisfactory full-time paid experience in field of specialization including at least three (3) years in a supervisory or administrative capacity.(Training and experience required for certification will be credited toward required specialized experience.)

Department Preferences

• Strong interest in working with an underserved population, within a community health setting.
• Demonstrated history of problem-solving, creativity, and proactive leadership skills.
• Excellent diagnostic and treatment skills with particular attention to issues of psychopharmacology, safe administration of medication in a variety of settings, medical complications of mental illness, and therapeutic resistance.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with other disciplines, including DOC staff.
• Strong leadership skills with ability to identify staff needs and provide mentorship and education to suit those needs.

Department Prefernces cont.

1. Education
   
   1. M.D. or D.O. degree with active NY State license in good standing
   2. Completion of a 4-year psychiatric residency training program
   3. Active certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry
   4. Additional clinical fellowship training (forensic, substance use, psychosomatics, child/adolescent, public health) preferred but not required

1. Experience
   
   1. At least three years of post-residency experience working with individuals with serious mental illness
   2. At least two years of post-residency experience working with individuals with mental illness in a criminal justice setting (jail, prison, probation and/or parole) or public health community setting
   3. At least two years of post-residency experience in a supervisory role in psychiatry

1. An equivalent and satisfactory combination of education and experience may be considered.

Benefits

NYC Health and Hospitals offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive Health Benefits for employees hired to work 20+ hrs. per week
• Retirement Savings and Pension Plans
• Paid Holidays and Vacation in accordance with employees' Collectively bargained contracts
• Loan Forgiveness Programs for eligible employees
• College tuition discounts and professional development opportunities
• College Savings Program
• Union Benefits for eligible titles
• Multiple employee discounts programs
• Commuter Benefits Programs

If you wish to apply for this position, please apply online by clicking the "Apply for Job" button.