Psychiatrist - Short Term Temporary (Seattle)

Jail Health Services, a division of Public Health Seattle & King County , is recruiting for part time Psychiatrists 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. The incumbent will provide psychiatric consultation, patient assessments, treatment plans, and information to patients and families for specialized health care programs within King County correctional facilities.
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 those people holding marginalized identities feel that they belong and have 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 includemedical, 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.
Commitment to Equity and Social Justice:
As the only jurisdiction in the world named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.
We have a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from vulnerable communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.
Applicants should be committed to working with diverse populations throughout King County to provide excellent customer service to a broad range of cultures, in accordance with the King County Equity and Social Justice Ordinance and the King County Strategic Plan .
Who May Apply
Open to all qualified applicants.
Work Schedule: Primary shift assignment for a Short-Term Temporary Psychiatrist (following orientation) is weekend/holiday day shift. To maintain familiarity with the JHS practice and current with JHS procedures and guidelines, Short Term Temporary Psychiatrists should be able to work four shifts on average per month. These positions are not eligible for benefits.
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 patients 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 the 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.

• 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 managemen