Excellent Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Medical Director - Portland, OR

The VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) in Portland, Oregon is seeking a board-certified psychiatrist or psychologist to serve as the Medical Clinical Director of Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Services in the Mental Health Division. VAPORHCS is a large tertiary care (1A) facility with campuses in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA, as well as 10 outpatient clinics, serving over 95,000 veterans annually.  VAPORHCS provides full spectrum primary care, mental health, and complex specialty care services and is a complex care referral site for VISN 20.  

The position serves as the Patient Care Line (PCL) Manager and Medical Director for the Acute Psychiatric Services including the 21-bed inpatient acute psychiatric unit and inpatient psychiatric consultation services in the Mental Health Division of the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS). The physician will have broad program management and clinical oversight responsibilities which include the operation and management of key clinical, training, and/or administrative programs.  Responsibilities include the development and implementation of programs, policies, and procedures; oversight of administrative and programmatic resources; and monitoring of outcomes using a data-driven quality assurance process. Decisions made affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. Such programs deliver specialized, complex, and highly professional services that are important program components of the medical center and significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans. The physician will have supervisory responsibility for subordinates, as well as line and staff authority for resource allocations within the area of responsibility and ensure the efficient operation of the organizational unit. Responsibilities include the supervision of staff, professional management, and administrative responsibilities that are complex in scope and that constitute a significant component of the medical center. The Medical Director for Acute Psychiatric Services reports directly to the Clinical Director of the Mental Health Division at VAPORHCS.

VAPORHCS is a major teaching site and research site closely affiliated with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). VAPORHCS hosts about 2,000 health professional learners annually and ranks in the top 10 nationwide among VAs in research grant support, with over 170 investigators in basic science, clinical, and health services research and over 1000 active protocols.  The MH Division is responsible for over 170 trainees from various disciplines and currently has 16 funded principal investigators receiving over $8 million in project funding from the VA, NIH, DOD, and other sources annually. 

We are seeking a Medical Director of Acute Psychiatric Services with a strong clinical, administrative, and academic background who will provide oversight of day-to-day operations, be clinically active, help to develop the Acute Psychiatric Service, and collaborate with educational and research activities. The incumbent is expected to demonstrate the ability to manage a complex service and work well both within a management team and with other leaders at VAPORHCS.

The ideal candidate must be strongly motivated to promote excellent clinical care, education for staff, inter-professional training, and be committed to professional enrichment, merit promotion, equal employment opportunity, and positive labor relations. An OHSU academic appointment will be commensurate with experience.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, (Will be required to work evenings or weekends as a 24/7 Full-Time Physician).

• Must be U.S. Citizen
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in the U.S.
• Board Certification in Psychiatry

Community Information

Portland, Oregon is a great city with distinct and interesting neighborhoods, full of good restaurants and bars, coffee shops on every corner, locally made beer pubs, and hundreds of food carts where you can try out food from around the world. Portland is a safe, very clean and beautiful city. You can feel safe in Portland downtown and neighborhoods night and day. Portlanders are friendly and helpful. Even though Portland has 2.2 million people living in it--and has all the benefits and amenities of a big city--it has a friendly, small-town feel. Portland has one of the best bus and city-train systems in America. Portland is also the most bicycle friendly city in America. You do not need a car to enjoy living in and exploring Portland! Portland is often called the "beer-capital of the world", with more varieties and brands of beer made in local breweries than anywhere else--and with over a dozen of beer festivals held in the city every year! Oregon is also becoming more known for wine, with over a hundred wineries in and near Portland, where you can sample all kinds of wine--pinot noir and pinot gris wines are an Oregon specialty. Oregon is a place of natural beauty & exciting adventures. It is the state with the most diverse climate in all the United States. Oregon has cool rainforests and hot deserts, ocean beaches and snow-covered mountains. View more details at &

Benefits and Features

The position offers a competitive salary based on education, training and experience and includes a full benefit package, student debt repayment, an annual CME stipend all designed to support a high-quality professional practice and favorable work-life-family balance. VA does this by offering: Paid Time Off in the form of 26 Days paid annual leave, 13 Days paid sick leave per year, 11 Federal holidays with pay, and 5-Day paid absence to attend approved CME courses. Insurance to include Health-Dental-Vision care insurance programs to choose from with premiums partially paid by VA; Flexible Spending Accounts; Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government; and Long-term care insurance available as an option. Federal Retirement Plan thru the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) - A three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits; 2) FERS-FRAE basic benefits (pension); and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan, with up to five percent government matching contributions.  

To Explore This Physician Opportunity Further

Please forward copy of your Cover Letter and Curriculum Vitae to Henry "Hank" Laguatan, VA National Healthcare Recruitment Consultant @ or call (206) 459-7927.