Job Description

Join our Team at the  Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, CA as a Physician - Psychiatry Service Chief!  

As a Chief of the Service, the incumbent maintains administrative oversight of the the Mental Health (MH) Service by developing short- and long-range goals and plans, policies and procedures to ensure goal attainment, outcomes measurement and data driven quality assurance processes. The incumbent also oversees preparation of special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs, and
decision papers for the medical center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential, and of a complex nature. The Chief of MH is responsible for development of policies and procedures and may develop performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements as well as monitoring the clinical performance of staff. The incumbent conducts performance appraisals and performs other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied.

Major duties include but may not be limited to:

• Leads a multidisciplinary service with a Tier 1A faciality.
• Participates in an effective clinical program with attention to patient outcome indicators.
• Practices within the scope of assigned privileges.
• Complies with the bylaws, rules and regulations of the facility and agency.
• Meet medical staff criteria for initial appointments and reappointment, including CME.
• Comply with prescribed record keeping practices in accordance with the rules, regulations and bylaws.
• Complies with prescribed information security policy and procedures.
• Works effectively with patients, families, staff, co-workers and other health care professionals.
• Participates in Mental Health Service Educational and/or research activities and scheduled meetings.
• Completes all assigned health care record reviews, peer reviews, performances of providers of the incumbent under supervisions, etc., within the identified time frames.
• Complies with assigned Peer Reviews and maintain quality assurance standards.

Board certification is required due to its faculty status due to UCSF affiliation.

Major duties include but may not be limited to:

• Participate in an effective clinical program with attention to patient outcome indicators.
• Practice within the scope of assigned privileges.
• Comply with the bylaws, rules and regulations of the facility and agency.
• Meet medical staff criteria for initial appointment and reappointment, including ongoing CME.
• Comply with prescribed record keeping practices in accordance with the rules, regulations and bylaws.
• Comply with prescribed information security policy and procedures.
• Work effectively with patients, families, staff, coworkers and other health care professionals.
• Participate in Medical Service educational activities and scheduled meetings.
• Comply with assigned Peer Reviews and maintaining quality assurance standards.
• Complete all assigned health record reviews, peer reviews, etc., within the identified timelines.

Benefits and Features

• Expected Salary Range from $280K - $350K (negotiable based on candidate's qualifications, credentials and experience).
• Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment):  Authorized
• Work Schedule:  8:00am to 4:30pm, Monday-Friday.
• Pay:  Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases.
• Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME) Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
• Retirement:  Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Insurance:  Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
• Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory.
• CME:  Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification).
• Malpractice:  Free liability protection with tail coverage provided.
• Contract:  No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting.

We encourage you to consider VA employment in San Francisco, CA. We offer both a mission you can put your heart into and a home for fun, new experiences. Join a team that values a healthy home/work life balance and be rewarded by your role in keeping the promise to those who served.

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