Post-Doctoral Clinical Health Psychology Residency Primary Care-Behavioral Health Integration (PCBHI)

How would you like to work in a place where your contributions and ideas are valued? A place where you can serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice? At Wellstar, our mission is simple, yet powerful: to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve. We are proud to have become a shining example of what's possible when the brightest professionals dedicate themselves to making a difference in the healthcare industry, and in people's lives.

• Post-Doctoral Clinical Health Psychology Residency

  Primary Care-Behavioral Health Integration (PCBHI)

   

   

  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine defined high quality primary care as: “… the provision of whole-person, integrated, accessible, and equitable health care by interprofessional teams that are accountable for addressing the majority of an individual’s health and wellness needs across settings and through sustained relationships with patients, families, and communities”. Evidence supports the use of behavioral health programs integrated into primary care as an effective way to achieve this objective with the goal of actualizing patient-centered outcomes.

   

  Wellstar Health System is committed to high quality primary care as demonstrated through the expansion of its Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration (PCBHI) program. This expansion includes a PCBHI residency with rigorous training grounded in the biopsychosocial model and scientist-practitioner values. The PCBHI Residency provides an opportunity to meet the growing need for skilled behavioral health clinicians who are prepared to support and thrive in the Primary Care setting.  To those ends, Wellstar is pleased to announce one (1) opening for a PCBHI resident, effective August 1, 2023.

    

  Description: The PCBHI Residency is a 1-year commitment, which results in the Resident developing intimate knowledge and understanding of the state of clinical practice in a healthcare setting, refined diagnostic and assessment skills, evidenced based consultative and intervention proficiencies, and the ability to supervise other behavioral health clinicians within the primary care setting. 

   

  Utilizing a Behavioral Health Consultant Model, primary responsibilities include working as a critical member of the primary care team, regular interdisciplinary consultation with physicians and advanced practitioners, administration and interpretation of screening measures and brief psychological and neurocognitive assessment tools, engaging with patients via warm hand-offs, and the provision of brief evidence-based interventions with patients across the lifespan. In addition to caring for patients with primary psychiatric conditions, the Resident delivers brief, time-limited behavioral interventions to individuals with primary medical conditions (e.g., hypertension) that are responsive to psychological interventions, as well as patients struggling to modify health behaviors that impact quality of life or health risk factors. As PCBHI at Wellstar is a rapidly expanding program, the Resident will also have the opportunity to learn strategies for program development to support the significant growth in Wellstar’s Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration program and to match any developing patient needs. These aggregate experiences are organized to ensure that the residency fully prepares the trainee to master all core competencies required for board certification in clinical health psychology. Working with an attending Clinical Health Psychologist to develop their skills and move towards independent practice and clinical excellence, the Resident will have met licensure requirements in the state of Georgia at completion of the first year of the residency year. 

   

  Wellstar’s PCBHI Residency places priority on education and training, with up to 20% time (8 hours/week) allocated to such efforts. Education is provided through multi-modality offerings, including weekly Internal Medicine Grand Rounds, two hours per week of individual supervision (including programmatic oversight by a board-certified Clinical Health Psychologist), a weekly group didactic in Professional Development attended by all Wellstar Residents, participation in the monthly Clinical Health Psychology Forum (CHPF), etc. Optional Grand Rounds and didactic experiences are available through various Wellstar Service Lines (e.g., Neurology) as well as other Behavioral Health Residency sub-specialty offerings (e.g., Neuroimaging Seminar) and clinical-translational research

   

  Whereas 60% time is allocated to developing clinical competencies as a Clinical Health Psychologist within the major rotation of choosing and 20% to didactics, the remaining 20% time (8 hours/week) is required for participation in a minor rotation that is additive to understanding the continuum of patient care (e.g., Emergency Department or inpatient consultation-liaison psychology) or within another clinical sub-specialty area such as: Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine, Metabolic Health/Bariatrics, Obesity Medicine, Psychogastroenterology, or Medically-Unexplained (Functional) conditions.

   

  In sum, board certification in one of three psychology sub-specialties (Clinical Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or Neuropsychology) within three years of employment is a condition of employment for Wellstar psychologists, and we highly value the competencies identified by the ABPP. To that end, we structure our training around these competencies and will support your pursuit of board certification as well. Residents will receive evaluations based on ABPP functional and foundational competencies.  Residents can anticipate defined milestones and their related assessments throughout the year as well as a competency exam at the end of each year of training.

   

  Skills Needed: As a clinician, foundational skills as a Clinical Health Psychologist should already be established. The Resident should have knowledge of the biopsychosocial model and have the skills to assess such domains in the context of a clinical interview. The Resident should possess core assessment competencies, including familiarity with a broad range of psychological measures as well as proficiency in the application of evidence-based psychotherapy and health/behavior interventions.  

   

  The Resident should possess professionalism and interpersonal nuance. (S)He should be flexible, open to feedback, and possess emotional intelligence. Fluency with medical nomenclature is needed to collaborate optimally in this environment. As such, candidates with exposure to the hospital setting (e.g., via internship) are preferred. The candidate should have strong written and verbal communication skills and be comfortable presenting to a professional audience. Computer literacy is necessary, especially the use of the Microsoft programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, TEAMS) as well as intermediate knowledge with statistical programs (e.g., SPSS).

   

  Setting: Wellstar Health System is a large multi-hospital system, and one of the largest health systems in Georgia. Wellstar is a member of the Mayo Clinic Network. In this role, the Resident will work as part of a multidisciplinary team, reporting to a Clinical Health Psychologist, who is committed to adhering to the functional and foundational competency domains outlined by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). On completion of the training experience, the Resident should be equipped to pursue and obtain board certification as a Clinical Health Psychologist. 

   

  Wellstar psychologists hold independent Medical Staff privileges at Wellstar hospitals and are well-integrated within the health system. To date, multiple Wellstar psychologists have participated in the system’s Physician Leadership Academy. Further, our compensation model and health benefits are highly competitive. Residents are eligible for annual bonuses in addition to the base salary.

   

   

  Required Minimum Education: (1) a doctorate degree (Ph.D./Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology from a program accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), (2) completion of an APA-accredited internship in a hospital/medical setting; and (3) focused training in Clinical Health Psychology. 

   

​We proudly offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Competitive Base Salary $58,000.00 a year.
• Occurrence-based malpractice coverage
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• 403(b) with employer match
• CME allowance ($5,000) plus one work week each fiscal year; pro-rated during first year of employment.
• Georgia license is reimbursed.
• $5,000 Sign-on Bonus
• $1,000 per contract year for professional dues, journal and subscription fees
• Extended illness bank
• Paid time off for vacation and holidays
• Concierge service
• Adoption assistance
• Medical, dental, vision insurance

Application Process: Please also forward a copy of your CV to recruiter, Beth Guerin, at beth.guerin@wellstar.org.  

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