Facility: Kennestone Hospital

A member of the Mayo Clinic Network, Wellstar Health System is a multi-hospital system and the largest integrated health entity in Georgia.

Wellstar is committed to investing in the communities we serve. We continue to develop innovative care models, focused on improving quality and access to healthcare. To this end, the Wellstar Medical Group is excited to announce an opportunity for an ED psychiatrist to support system needs across multiple Wellstar submarkets.

This position is conceptualized from the UK Rapid Assessment, Interface, Discharge (RAID) model, in which care is accelerated to provide proactive support and offer clinical stabilization rapidly. This model has been shown to improve patient outcomes (e.g., mortality) and reduce excessive length of stay. With strains on national, state-level, and local systems, such innovative models have never been more important to ensure our patients receive the expedited care they need.

Working alongside masters-level counselors, advanced practitioners, and other multi-disciplinary team members, the consultation-liaison psychiatrist provides services for Wellstar hospital Emergency Departments, medical-surgical units, and other entities as needed. Providing a combination of on-site and telepsychiatry support from a centralized telepsych hub the psychiatrist participates in morning team huddles, provides coordinated and proactive psychiatric services to patients under Wellstar Health System’s care. She/He leverages psychiatric expertise to improve patient outcomes, ensure optimal care coordination, and deliver on Wellstar’s promise to provide “world class healthcare to every patient, every time.”

Whereas the psychiatrist starts the day on-site at a Wellstar hospital, (s)he transitions to the Behavioral Health Assessment & Resource Center (BH ARC) to extend support to care at more geographically remote locations. This work requires a team of clinicians who share our commitment to communication clarity and compassion – delivering better and safer care to improve outcomes and reduce mortality.

Overview of Duties/Responsibilities

This is a full-time position, with time allocated to the provision of hospital-based clinical services. The work schedule entails a 7-days-on/7-days-off cadence, in which shifts are 12 hours (7a-7p), with a minimum of 10 hours required on-site. The rotating schedule affords the clinician 26 weeks off every calendar year, intended to help with work-life balance.

Services are provided in-person on a Wellstar hospital campus, followed by a transition to the BH ARC, our locus of telepsychiatry care. The C-L psychiatrist functions as a member of the WellStar Medical Group’s Behavioral Health team – a team comprised of ~50 licensed behavioral health providers.  On a daily basis, the psychiatrist will work closely with members of the behavioral health, ED, and acute inpatient teams. The clinician will obtain and maintain hospital privileges at multiple Wellstar hospitals and will have responsibilities for overseeing the work of an advanced psychiatric nurse practitioner. Knowledge and experience in the use of telepsychiatry to achieve stated aims is required. Openness to supporting graduate medical education (GME) needs is not a requirement of the role, but is considered a plus.

The ideal candidate is one who is team-oriented and able to lead effectively in an inter-disciplinary setting, possessing a commitment to collaboration, active listening skills, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, and strong decision-making acumen. He/She should be comfortable with the pace and changing conditions of a hospital environment and have expertise in working with adults and older adults with various psychiatric and medical conditions, including neurocognitive disorders such as delirium/dementia, acutely decompensated psychiatric illness, complicated detox, and other conditions as they present in the ED or on admission to the medical floor. Specialized training and experience in consultation-liaison, med/psych, addictions, and/or geriatric psychiatry is ideal.

Required Minimum Education:

(1) completion of a medical degree (MD/DO)

(2) completion of general ACGME psychiatry residency training program

(3) license to practice psychiatry in the State of Georgia

(4) ABPN board-certification (or board-eligibility)

Application Process: Apply through www.wellstarcareers.org. Please also forward a copy of CV and cover letter to provider recruiter, Leslie Roberts, at Leslie.Roberts@wellstar.org.