Psychiatry Consultant Liaison/Staff Clinician 1 in The Office of the Clinical Director
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Division of Intramural Research Programs (IRP)
Office of the Clinical Director (OCD)
Program Overview
This position is located in the Intramural Research Program (IRP), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, Maryland. The NIMH IRP conducts extensive research into the mechanisms of and treatments for a range of mental illnesses including psychotic, affective, and anxiety disorders in adults, childhood disorders, as well as genetic studies, and basic/translational laboratory research. The IRP conducts clinical trials that are designed to expedite the exchange of information between scientists and clinicians so that basic findings can be moved quickly from the laboratory setting to the treatment of patients at the bedside. Clinical trials are of primary importance to the research mission of the NIMH. The clinical research portion of the program comprises tenured and tenure-track clinical investigators, staff clinicians, and fellows in more than a dozen clinical Branches and free-standing sections.
The incumbent will provide direct support to the Office of the Clinical Director (OCD). The mission of the Office of the Clinical Director (OCD) is to ensure that subjects participating in NIMH protocols receive the highest quality clinical care. This is accomplished by the activities of the Human Subjects Protection Unit, the Combined Neuroscience Institutional Review Board (IRB), Clinical Fellowship Training activities, and the Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service (PCLS). The overall responsibilities of the office include the following: oversight of the clinical care provided to our research subjects, management of the NIMH protocol review process, administration of the quality assurance program, authorization of medical staff credentials, and allocation of Clinical Center (CC) resources.
The incumbent will serve as a Staff Clinician 1 and Associate Director of the Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Service (PCLS) in the NIMH (IRP). The NIMH PCLS provides clinical services that include psychiatric and psychological consultations to adult and pediatric patients enrolled in clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Research Center (CRC), a 200-bed hospital with inpatient, outpatient, and day-hospital facilities serving 18 different NIH Institutes/Centers at the Bethesda, Maryland campus. The PCLS team consists of two attending psychiatrists, a C-L fellow, a social worker, and a pediatric psychologist. Additional psychiatrists, psychiatry trainees and social workers may also occasionally serve as consultants. Visiting medical students may also do 4- or 8-week electives on the PCLS.
Position Overview
The NIMH OCD has three additional specialty consult services: the Neuropsychology Consultation Service, the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service and the Sleep and Neurodevelopment Service. These teams consist of developmental psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and social workers. The PCLS may collaborate with these consult teams using a multidisciplinary treatment approach in complex cases or in research collaborations. The incumbent also serves as the associate director of the overall consult program, providing supervision and support to all teams, in all aspects of their consultative work.
The NIMH PCLS provides psychiatric consultation services to different NIH Institutes that enroll patient participants as well as healthy volunteers in their research protocols at the NIH CC. Services include evaluation and management of routine and emergency psychiatric questions. PCLS consultants collaborate with NIH investigators through the provision of expertise in the areas of psychiatric, neurocognitive, and psychosocial functioning in the setting of adult and pediatric medical illness. Furthermore, the PCLS offers consultation in the management of urgent psychiatric issues in caregivers, walk-ins, staff, and the general public. In addition to direct care, the PCLS provides liaison services to medical teams through the provision of expertise in the management of complex health care delivery in a research setting. PCLS consultants play an integral role in multi-disciplinary team meetings and in providing targeted education, training, and outreach both in the CC and non-clinical constituent groups on the larger NIH campus.
The incumbent will serve as faculty for the Medstar-Georgetown University Hospital Consultation-Liaison Medicine Fellowship Training program serving as a supervisor for the C-L fellow, providing didactic training, overseeing fellow research projects, and providing mentorship. The incumbent will also serve as an attending on the consult service and supervise on-call fellows within the NIMH IRP. Shared on-call responsibilities to oversee the clinical fellow on-call is a responsibility of the incumbent in rotation with other psychiatry attendings in the OCD.
The incumbent may serve as the study principal investigator or associate investigator on one or more protocols. Incumbent may manage human subject studies in any of the following areas: data collection, data release policies, design protocols, dissemination of results, informed consent, patient examination, patient safety, protocol adherence monitoring, randomization recruitment, referral for abnormal findings, and reporting adverse events. The incumbent provides direction and recommendations for the establishment, revision, or re-evaluation of the goals and objectives of the clinical and training programs under their purview.
Through extensive established contacts with professional colleagues, medical, and public health officials both in this country and abroad, keeps abreast of recent advances in the clinical area and identifies problems and opportunities and appropriate data sources. Elicits critical responses and cooperative enterprises at a variety of levels and within a range of relevant disciplines. Coordinates cross-NIH programs in the assigned specialty area.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate for this position would have a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy degree from an accredited medical or osteopathic school; board certification in psychiatry and consultation-liaison psychiatry, and a current unrestricted license to practice medicine.
The ideal candidate for this position would have professional knowledge of, and skill in applying, concepts, principles, and methodology of the field of psychiatry and C-L psychiatry, sufficient to apply experimental theories and new developments to the solution of complex biomedical research problems not susceptible to treatment by accepted methods; or to make decisions or recommendations significantly changing or developing important public policies or programs. This may also include knowledge of, and advanced skills in, the conduct of psychiatric practice, including an in-depth understanding of research methodology.
The ideal candidate for this position would have mastery of the concepts, principles, processes and techniques of program management and the methods used to analyze and evaluate information on the progress of assigned activities in order to make and implement recommendations that have significant impact on the overall substance and direction of the program.
Benefits
The Staff Clinician will be appointed at a salary commensurate with their qualifications and experience. In addition, full federal benefits, including leave, and thrift savings plan (401K equivalent), will be provided.
How to Apply
The position is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and contact information for three references to paom@mail.nih.gov by February 24, 2024. Please include "Staff Clinician Application" in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The position is subject to a background check.
HHS and NIH are equal opportunity employers
The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs and encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, persons from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged.