This position is open until filled, and applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis. Applications received by September 20, 2024, will be given first consideration.
Jail Health Services, a division of Public Health Seattle & King County, is recruiting for one (1) Psychiatrist (Full Time - Part Time) to join our team! The Jail Health Services Psychiatric Services Team is comprised of Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners, and Psychiatric Evaluation Specialists who work collaboratively with all other Jail Health Services staff across the practice to provide mental health services to patients.
Psychiatrists in Jail Health Services provide primary mental health care services to psychiatric patients according to established department policies and procedures and local, state, and federal standards. Examples of responsibilities include psychiatric consultation, patient assessments, treatment plans, and information to patients and families for specialized health care programs within King County correctional facilities. Patients are seen in clinical areas such as psychiatric housing, general population housing, clinic, and the infirmary. Psychiatrists enjoy working unburdened by billing, insurance restrictions, and requests for prior authorization. Jail Health Services maintains a close relationship with the University of Washington Psychiatry training program, both as an elective and as a moonlighting opportunity. Depending on your interest, you have the option to assist in the education of 3rd and 4th year psychiatry residents in these activities.
We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Brown, and Indigenous People of Color.
We are committed to recruiting diverse people, create programs, measures, and systems accountability to make sure that BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and people holding other marginalized identities feel that they belong and have the opportunity to succeed. We are committed to developing a systematic approach to assessing and monitoring institutional change, ensuring implicit bias and its consequences are understood and that people of diverse backgrounds are welcome and respected.
About Jail Health Services:JHS provides needed health and social services to the incarcerated population located in the King County jails – King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle, WA and Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent, WA. The primary services we provide include medical, dental, mental health, social and release planning services, treatment of substance use disorders, and pharmaceutical services. We care about the patients we serve and their health outcomes. Our Division includes over 230 employees and a bi-annual budget of over $80 million.
The purpose of JHS is to assure that high-quality health and human services are available to the incarcerated population in the King County adult correctional facilities: the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent. The JHS vision is Opening doors to healthier, happier lives, and the mission is to assess and stabilize serious health problems for the detained population of the King County Correctional Facility and the Maleng Regional Justice Center with a focus on transition from jail.
Staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, JHS provides a broad range of health care to all individuals booked into the jails. For patients with serious mental health or medical conditions, special housing units (psychiatric and infirmary) along with a higher level of services and medical monitoring are provided. Since the patient population varies both in numbers as well as in acuity of health conditions, staffing is adapted and flexed to meet the constantly changing needs of the population.
JHS staff manage the complex health needs of underserved populations many of whom come to the facility without access to care in the community and with decompensated acute and chronic health conditions.
Who May Apply:Open to all qualified applicants.
Work Schedule:The workdays and hours may vary to meet team coverage needs. The schedule will include weekday day and evening shifts as well as weekend and holiday day shifts.
Work Location:The primary work locations are at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle and Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
- Performance of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, that includes the patient’s current psychiatric problem(s), history psychiatric care, psychiatric review of systems, a mental status exam, diagnosis, prescription of medications and other treatments, client education and referrals for other services.
- Obtain health history through client/caregiver interview and chart review. Assess presenting illness and risk factors, family health history, review of systems, psychosocial/developmental histories, and cultural information.
- Recognize common medical conditions and complaints to identify and separate from psychiatric diagnoses.
- Perform appropriate physical examination and assessment.
- Order or perform appropriate diagnostic and screening tests and collect additional data for evaluation of illness/wellness.
- Develop differential diagnosis and risk identification through assessment and interpretation of data.
- Complete documentation in the electronic health record in a timely manner.
- Respond to medical or psychiatric emergencies as part of the Jail healthcare team.
- Perform assessment and treatment of psychiatric emergencies, such as acute alcohol withdrawal, delirium, and catatonia.
- Conduct individual and/or group therapy sessions in accordance with generally accepted principles of the American Psychiatric Association.
- Assist with the civil commitment process for patients who meet the criteria.
- Participate in the preparation of documents necessary for the transfer of a client to outside agencies, such as Designated County Responders, or a transfer to an outside medical facility.
- Participate in the involuntary antipsychotic hearing process, including report preparation, presentation to the hearing committee, prescribing involuntary antipsychotics, and/or the appeal review role.
- Participate in Continuing Education, guidelines development, staff development, committee meetings.
- Develop and implement individualized mental health treatment plans, ensure coordination of services, oversight of referrals.
- Review and implement clinical practices and psychiatric treatment guidelines for compliance with governing standards.
- Communicate care through electronic charting and verbal interactions with your client and health care team (interdisciplinary health team, students and interagency services) providing them with leadership and direction; consult, educate, orient and train as needed. Act as consultant to health care team, other staff and the community.
- Ensure quality of professional practice by practicing within professional, legal and ethical standards. Participate in Quality Improvement (QI)/Quality Assurance (QA) activities as requested. Provide psychiatric services as an independent psychiatric health care provider based on Public Health-Seattle & King County clinical practice guidelines, CDC guidelines, mental health standards as well as the current community standards.
Minimum Qualifications:- Washington State medical (MD/Psychiatry) license in good standing.
- Board certified or board eligible.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration must be obtained prior to credentialing.
- Documentation of current BLS CPR certification with AED training required at time of hire. CPR/AED Heart saver courses do not meet this requirement.
- Knowledge of alcohol and drug addiction and withdrawals.
- Skill in prescribing psychiatric medications.
- Experience providing care to diverse socio-economic populations.
- Advanced knowledge of human systems, including wellness/illness, growth and development, basic nutrition, behavioral, psycho-social and family systems; anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology; pharmacology and therapeutics and alternative treatment modalities, diagnostic testing and interpretation of results, diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision-making.
- Knowledge of health promotion, risk assessment and education techniques and principles.
- Thorough knowledge of health care system structure and function; community, professional and educational resources.
- Demonstrated ability in mental health assessment, communication (oral, written and use of information management systems and health care technology), medical records documentation, writing orders, time management, problem solving, crisis intervention, interviewing, analytical and critical thinking, leadership and case management.
- Demonstrated ability to consult, investigate, facilitate and present effectively.
- Demonstrated ability in initiating appropriate emergency response.
- Demonstrated ability in working with diverse cultural and socio-economic populations providing therapeutic client interventions and group dynamics.
- Skill in testifying clearly and concisely at public hearings, courts of law, and at inquests in a professional, neutral, and convincing manner.
- Ability to make expert diagnoses, interpretations and recommendations on a consultative basis.
Desirable Qualifications:- Proficiency in a language other than English, particularly Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, African Languages, or Chinese Languages.
- Experience working in correctional facilities and/or inpatient psychiatric settings.
To Apply:
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
Application processApplications will be reviewed after the job posting closes. The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:
- NEOGOV/Government Jobs on-line or paper application
- Supplemental questionnaire responses
- Resume/CV
- Cover Letter
Please do not use "see resume" in your application or answers to supplemental questions as these will be considered incomplete.
Please do not copy and paste your entire resume, or copy and paste your entire job history, as your answers to the supplemental questions as these will be considered incomplete.
You may attach multiple documents if you wish:
- Copy and paste one or more documents into the text resume section of the application.
- Attach multiple documents/files in the resume attachment section.
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the standard information in the application. Providing information only in a resume will not be considered a complete application.
Your application materials must validate your answers to the supplemental questions. If your answers cannot be validated, you will not proceed to the next steps of the process.
Necessary Special Requirements:- The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
- The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of Basic Life Support (BLS) / CPR (if applicable).
- The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment. (and Pre-employment Physical, if applicable).
- For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring. For tips on interviewing, please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/audience/employees/learning-and-development/Interview_Tips.ashx?la=en.
- Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
- Public Health relies on office automation (Microsoft Office) and web-based enabled tools, therefore candidates must be proficient and comfortable with computer use to perform functions associated with on-going work.
- Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing their mandatory trainings on time and obtaining required immunizations.
- Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
- When Public Health responds to an emergency, and in accordance with relevant CBA language and/or KC policy and procedures, we may assign duties outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time, including nights and weekends, with possible deployment to locations other than the department.
- If you need a disability accommodation in the application or testing process, please call the contact number listed on the job announcement.
Additional Information:Public Health - Jail Health Services follows and maintains federal and state requirements standards including, but not limited to, Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards which apply to all public and private institutions that house adult or juvenile offenders. PREA standards preclude the department from hiring or promoting anyone who has engaged in, or been convicted of any conduct which would violate PREA standards related to sexual assault.
Union affiliation:Non-represented
Contact:For more information about the application process please contact Alexis Owens at alowens@kingcounty.gov.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
