Perspectives regarding VA Psychiatry positions?

[milan95]

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Hello all,

Rising fourth year resident, interest in working for the VA. Any recommendations for good VA systems to work for? I am open to anywhere in the USA. Also would love to hear experience of VA psychiatrists - I am mostly interested in outpatient.

Thanks!

 

[comp1]

Well there are a great deal more outpatient jobs than inpatient. You really have no geographic preferences? No family? There are literally VA jobs everywhere. VA psychiatrists are typically hired non-competitively (not from a posting), so most jobs will not be advertised. My recommendation is to pick at least a sort of weather you like and then go onto usajobs.gov and reach out to the physician recruiter located in a state that has that weather. Ignore the specifics of the job posted. Ask to set up a Teams meeting with the chief psychiatrist. Some questions to check out quality are how long has the chief of mental health been in their position? What about the chief of staff? Do both have their deputies also hired on? Stability is quite crucial in a VA. You have to build relationships over many years to be an effective manager. Then ask about what jobs are available. It isn't just "outpatient." You could potentially be a consultant embedded in primary care or you could be doing all same day crisis appointments. You could focus on substance abuse or PTSD. There are PHPs and residential programs. There are lots of different possibilities. You want to make sure there is a robust residency in place that has been around for many years. It requires immense management skills to maintain a residency and while a residency program is not a promise of quality, lack of one is very concerning.

 

[SeniorWrangler]

Yeah, VA’s are very different from each other, find one with a residency affiliation and some research activity, it will be a lot more interesting even if you don’t want to do it yourself.

 

[comp1]

Yeah I forgot about research. Along with education, it is a core mission of the VA and its presence also at least suggest a healthy depsrtment. Definitely ask about that.

 

[milan95]

i am open to moving to most areas in the USA, so I would love to hear if any one recommends strong VA health systems to work for..feel free to DM or post here thanks so much!

 

[clozareal]

You've gotta narrow your question down or at least give us an idea about what you want to get a better answer. We know nothing about you and your preferences.

What you're asking is akin to "Perspective regarding psychiatry jobs anywhere in the US?"

 

[milan95]

You've gotta narrow your question down or at least give us an idea about what you want to get a better answer. We know nothing about you and your preferences.

What you're asking is akin to "Perspective regarding psychiatry jobs anywhere in the US?"

That is fair. I am looking for outpatient VA psychiatry jobs at a VA that has a residency affiliation and a strong research program. If I must pick a general region, I would say the western half of the USA (not just the west coast). I was warned by one of my VA attendings that all VAs are different, and some VAs have better leadership that will try their best to insulate the physicians from some of the beaucratic b.s and function much smoother, so would like suggestions for a VA system like that.

 

[Stagg737]

That is fair. I am looking for outpatient VA psychiatry jobs at a VA that has a residency affiliation and a strong research program. If I must pick a general region, I would say the western half of the USA (not just the west coast). I was warned by one of my VA attendings that all VAs are different, and some VAs have better leadership that will try their best to insulate the physicians from some of the beaucratic b.s and function much smoother, so would like suggestions for a VA system like that.

Yes, if you’ve worked at one VA you’ve worked at one VA. Not sure if Texas is west enough for you, but one of my former co-residents went to either Dallas or Houston VA outpatient and liked it there. I have no details, but I feel like I’ve heard good things if the Texas VAs.

 

[milan95]

I am narrowing down based on location...any thoughts/info on the AZ or Southern Cali VA systems? interested in outpatient mental health.

Thanks!

 

[comp1]

I know nothing about AZ. Southern CA is a really big place with lots of and lots of VAs. There are 4 main systems there (assuming you consider Fresno part of NorCal as most do). The systems are Loma Linda, West LA, San Diego and Long Beach. Each one has an academic affiliate. Loma Linda is down the street from LLU. The main San Diego VA is in La Jolla literally on the UCSD undergrad campus (nowhere near UCSD hospital). West LA is across from UCLA. Long Beach is a bit of an odd one. They are the least academic, but DO have an affiliation, oddly, with UC Riverside which is quite a ways away. But of course these are just the main hospitals (all of which also have outpatient on site). You also have literally dozens of CBOCs (outpatient clinics). You could work where the externals of Grey's Anatomy are filmed at VA Sepulveda! There are serious cultural, cost and climate differences between living in Loma Linda and living in Brentwood or La Jolla. You may want to start investigating the communities as opposed to the VAs. SoCal is, contrary to TV, not in any way monolithic. I'm fairly confident they can provide a job for an outpatient psychiatrist at basically any VA hospital or clinic down there. So narrow it down a bit and also think about what sort of outpatient you want to do. Do you want to focus on PTSD? Schizophrenia/SMI? Consulting to primary care? Substance abuse? Or really just anything outpatient that walks through the door? Then you can talk to the physician recruiter. I think one covers all of SoCal for mental health. Get started at [email protected]. Don't rely on usajobs.gov right now as most jobs won't be there at present, although if you were willing to head north, there is a lot on there.