Employed civilian psychiatrist with Navy

[bomerate]

Hi all
Any thoughts about working as an civilian psychiatrist with the Navy? I did apply for contractor opportunity last year. One of the psychiatrists was being deployed but it seemed like that changed and the provider stayed. So I did not get an interview. They called me last week and offered me a full time position. I was surprised and not sure but I did a phone interview last week. They offered me the job this morning. Does anyone have any experience working with the Navy?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[prominence]

I would be interested in hearing any insights on this topic as well.

 

[Shikima]

Like any other position, just will take a while learning the culture and resources you'd apply in that specific environment.

 

[prominence]

Like any other position, just will take a while learning the culture and resources you'd apply in that specific environment.

The original poster asked if anyone had any first hand experience working as a civilian Navy psychiatrist. Your generic reply adds zero value to the original poster's inquiry.

 

[st2205]

The original poster asked if anyone had any first hand experience working as a civilian Navy psychiatrist. Your generic reply adds zero value to the original poster's inquiry.

Well I guess that makes a second generic reply adding zero value to the inquiry (and now a third).

 

[Shikima]

Is working for the Navy any different that for the VA? The Army? What about BOP? State Dept? They're all gov't entities where you're taking care of federal employees. The work is the same, the culture, duties and resources are different. Working at Balboa vs Jacksonville NAS vs Kaiser will have the same work as a psychiatrist. The locality will have a specific flavor and your paycheck comes directly from uncle sam.

 

[Crabbygas]

Im not a psychiatrist and haven't worked with the Navy but based on Army and Air force contracting I will have a go at some observations. First make sure that all your paperwork is in order. You will almost certainly need a pass to get on base. This means license, insurance, registration for your car will be checked at the gate. Next make sure all your doctor paperwork is in order too. If they say you need BLS to work then they will not let you work if it is even one day out of date. Expect your initial in processing to consist of days or even weeks of mostly maddening classes on everything from where to park to how to report sexual harassment. Computer classes oh yes. As a contractor you should be aware that you have no rights at all. Regardless of what your contract says if they decide they have had enough of you one phone call to the company you work for and it's, "Don't go back tomorrow." Doesn't happen often but it can happen.
If it seems like I'm dwelling on the negative thats for two reasons. 1. The people hiring you probably told you all the good stuff. 2. If you go into it knowing what to expect you are less likely to be disappointed.

Hope this helped.

 

[bomerate]

Im not a psychiatrist and haven't worked with the Navy but based on Army and Air force contracting I will have a go at some observations. First make sure that all your paperwork is in order. You will almost certainly need a pass to get on base. This means license, insurance, registration for your car will be checked at the gate. Next make sure all your doctor paperwork is in order too. If they say you need BLS to work then they will not let you work if it is even one day out of date. Expect your initial in processing to consist of days or even weeks of mostly maddening classes on everything from where to park to how to report sexual harassment. Computer classes oh yes. As a contractor you should be aware that you have no rights at all. Regardless of what your contract says if they decide they have had enough of you one phone call to the company you work for and it's, "Don't go back tomorrow." Doesn't happen often but it can happen.
If it seems like I'm dwelling on the negative thats for two reasons. 1. The people hiring you probably told you all the good stuff. 2. If you go into it knowing what to expect you are less likely to be disappointed.

Hope this helped.

Thanks for the info. Got info that it is an employed position. The boarding process is lengthy as they mentioned and for for duty evaluations will be a main part of the job. I am worried I will be a disability specialist instead of actively practicing psychiatry in a way that I love to.

 

[Shikima]

Thanks for the info. Got info that it is an employed position. The boarding process is lengthy as they mentioned and for for duty evaluations will be a main part of the job. I am worried I will be a disability specialist instead of actively practicing psychiatry in a way that I love to.

Most people on AD will need fit for duty evals as you're typically working with a very healthy population. I suspect the bulk will be mood and substance disorders in relation to being able to do their job.

 

[wannabie]

Get used to AHLTA, an EMR designed to look like Microsoft Outlook from the 1990's. Documenting on it is a pain. It's pretty inflexible with how you prescribe too. As noted above, credentialing takes a while and may be delayed a while if you're not a US citizen. Assessing for fitness for duty is a normal part of evaluation and documentation, but it's not usually the main reason for seeing patients. Working with hospital corpsmen is nice, but their skill level and motivation varies widely. You'll get phone calls from your patient's commanding officers about how they're doing. And...lastly AHLTA. Oh, and AHLTA. Other than that, I don't feel like it's that much different than working with private patients or VA patients. Also, don't forget about AHLTA. It sucks.