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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00127390 |
Description Activated On: 9/23/2026 1:34:19 PM |
Position Purpose: Describe the primary purpose of this position and how it contributes to the organization’s objectives. Example: Provides clerical and office support within the Division to ensure its operations are conducted efficiently and effectively. The Chief of Psychiatry is responsible for provision of high-quality psychiatric care to the individuals admitted to Norristown State Hospital. Psychiatric inpatient care is provided through a recovery oriented and trauma informed lens, with care provided to psychiatric inpatients on both forensic and civil commitments. The role of the Chief of Psychiatry includes administrative and hospital wide leadership responsibilities, clinical supervision and consultative responsibilities, and when needed, direct clinical responsibilities. |
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Description of Duties: Describe in detail the duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Descriptions should include the major end result of the task. Example: Types correspondence, reports, and other various documents from handwritten drafts for review and signature of the supervisor. Administrative and Hospital Leadership 1. Directs, coordinates and integrates psychiatric services for the entirety of the hospital. 2. Ensures dignified and humane treatment of all patients admitted to the hospital through clinical supervision, multidisciplinary collaboration and ongoing assessment of quality indicators. 3. Effectively communicates with the medical staff, supervisors of other clinical disciplines, and the hospital executive leadership team. 4. Assigns psychiatrists equitably to all patient areas for the continuous delivery of psychiatric services. Participates as needed in the provision of direct clinical care to ensure continuous delivery of psychiatric inpatient care. 5. Approves leave, schedules work assignments, and authorizes or assigns overtime. 6. Reviews referrals for hospital admission and ensures appropriate unit placement of hospitalized individuals. 7. Develops and reviews policies and procedures governing the administration of all psychiatric services within the hospital. Communicates policies and procedures to hospital staff and ensures that hospital policies and medical staff rules are followed. 8. Performs and directs Quality Improvement initiatives following CMS and Medicare standards to advance high quality patient care. 9. Assists with medical staff recruitment when needed. Interviews prospective employees and recommends employee selection or ranks applicants in terms of preferability of employment. 10. Reviews reports of subordinate staff and prepares and maintains necessary administrative and clinical records and reports. 11. Supervises clinical and/or professional staff. Prepares and signs performance evaluations. 12. Reviews medical records periodically by following established guidelines to determine that the standards of reviewing agencies are being met. 13. Actively participates in administrative and medical staff meetings. Serves on hospital administrative and policy committees with other department heads. 14. Serves on statewide committees requiring psychiatric expertise. 15. Has a working knowledge of CMS, Medicare and Medicaid standards and ensures that departmental subordinates also have that working knowledge. 16. Performs other related duties and special projects as assigned after discussion with the Chief Medical Officer and hospital leadership to advance and ensure high quality psychiatric care within the hospital. Provision of Clinical Consultation and Supervision 1. Provides direction to all psychiatrists and advanced practice providers in the delivery of psychiatric services. Ensures that clinical performance of the psychiatric medical staff meets the standard of care, and is reflective of nationally accepted clinical guidelines and evidenced informed practices. 2. Provides clinical case supervision and consultation for hospitalized individuals presenting with unique clinical challenges. Obtains additional consultation as needed in order to assure optimum treatment. 3. When requested, is available to provide a second opinion on matters related to treatment, diagnosis, or discharge readiness. 4. Reviews and evaluates the educational training needs of staff. Plans, supervises and participates in in-service training programs regarding psychiatric treatment methods and techniques for hospital personnel. 5. Confers with and advises members of the medical staff and allied hospital personnel, agencies, relatives and other interested persons on the care, treatment and prognosis of patients. 6. Attends and participates in treatment team meetings and case conferences as needed regarding the diagnosis, management, treatment or discharge of patients. Coordinates and participates in multidisciplinary case conferences regarding the treatment needs of complex individuals. 7. Consults to other persons or agencies outside of the hospital for the purpose of continuity of care for individuals referred for admission, those who are currently hospitalized, or those recently discharged. Direct Clinical Care Responsibilities The Chief of Psychiatry may participate as needed in the provision of direct clinical care to ensure continuous delivery of psychiatric care of all hospitalized patients. When serving in this capacity, expectations include: 1. Writes orders for treatment and necessary studies of assigned patients, makes daily rounds to observe these patients, performs necessary psychotherapy and counseling, and formulates treatment plans with the assistance of the treatment team. 2. When in the role of treatment team leader, responsibilities include reviewing other discipline’s assessments, leading treatment planning conferences, discharge planning and post-discharge coordination of care by: A. Ensuring dignified and humane treatment of patients assigned to the team B. Ensuring collaboration and coordination of service delivery among all service providers and team members through an understanding of each team member’s professional responsibilities and effective communication including communication with their supervisors if required C. Being knowledgeable of current professional/practice standards, facility regulations and policies, privileging requirements, and clinical skills necessary for the treatment of patients D. Directing the treatment team meeting and facilitating the planning process through defining the agenda, encouraging member input, priority establishment, care implementation and discharge planning. E. Identifying care problems, outlining problem resolutions, and summarizing the treatment formulation for members of the treatment team F. Ensuring participation (as much as possible) of patient, family and advocate involvement in the treatment and discharge process G. Ensuring the protection and the ongoing clinical appropriateness and monitoring of patients involved in clinical research program(s) and unit or hospital wide quality improvement initiatives H. Identifying the need and facilitating outside collaborative care in circumstances where in-house resources are not present for specific consultations, treatments or development of adaptive services 3. When necessary, performs capacity evaluations and participates in commitment procedures. 4. Testifies as an expert psychiatric witness in legal proceedings regarding hospitalized individuals. 5. Be available for night and weekend coverage when assigned by complying with the On Duty policy in order to ensure continuity of patient care after regular working hours. Provide unit coverage when needed during regular working hours. |
Decision Making: Describe the types of decisions made by the incumbent of this position and the types of decisions referred to others. Identify the problems or issues that can be resolved at the level of this position, versus those that must be referred to the supervisor. Example: In response to a customer inquiry, this work involves researching the status of an activity and preparing a formal response for the supervisor’s signature. The Chief of Psychiatry evaluates and makes psychiatric care and treatment decisions on all patients under his/her care. He/she is responsible for deciding when to make referrals to supervisors or specialists. He/she is responsible for evaluating the quality of care of the employees he/she supervises and makes decisions on their ratings. The Chief of Psychiatry interprets and enforces hospital, departmental and personnel policy as well as CMS or other accreditation requirements. The Chief of Psychiatry deploys available clinical resources to assure that there is adequate psychiatric coverage. The Chief of Psychiatry renders consultation opinions to staff psychiatrists and psychiatric supervisors when requested. The Chief of Psychiatry is responsible for decisions regarding the transfer of patients from one unit to another. |
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Requirements Profile: Identify any specific experience or requirements, such as a licensure, registration, or certification, which may be necessary to perform the functions of the position. Position-specific requirements should be consistent with a Special Requirement or other criteria identified in the classification specification covering this position. Example: Experience using Java; Professional Engineer License Experience: Licenses, registrations, or certifications: 1. N/A 2. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certificate 3. N/A 4. N/A 5. N/A 6. N/A |
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Essential Functions: Provide a list of essential functions for this position. Example: Transports boxes weighing up to 60 pounds.
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