Crisis Center - Lead Psychiatrist

Position Summary

The Medical Services Supervisor provides clinical and psychiatric leadership for the DeKalb Regional Crisis Center (DRCC), ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based, and person-centered psychiatric and medical care to individuals in acute behavioral health crisis. This role includes direct care responsibilities, oversight of medical operations, and clinical supervision of medical staff, including Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and/or physician assistants (PAs).

Clinical Leadership & Direct Care

• Provides psychiatric and medical supervision for the Crisis Center, including Crisis Stabilization, Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES), and Withdrawal Management.
• Maintains an active caseload of approximately 12 clients on the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU).
• Delivers direct psychiatric care to adults (18+), including comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, crisis intervention, therapy, medication management, withdrawal management, and general medical care on the unit.
• Acts as the delegated physician of record for APRNs, offering clinical supervision, consultation, and support for independent practice as permitted.
• Provides mentorship and clinical teaching to medical students and psychiatry residents rotating through the center.

Oversight of Medical Operations

• Provides medical supervision of other MDs, PAs, and APRNs across PES and CSU units.
• Oversees and ensures implementation of safe, evidence-based protocols related to medication administration, clinical documentation, withdrawal management, and other critical workflows.
• Completes routine chart audits to ensure compliance with clinical standards and credentialing agency requirements.
• Provides consultation and assists in the development, implementation, and monitoring of behavioral health medical policies and procedures.
• Provides clinical expertise and guidance on medical/psychiatric treatment across all programs and levels of care.
• Performs clinical quality care reviews of medical staff and uses findings to improve performance and outcomes.
• Reviews referrals to the Crisis Center to ensure medical appropriateness and safe admission decisions.

Supervision and Staff Development

• Provides clinical oversight to APRNs and/or PAs, promoting professional development and consistent, high-quality service delivery.
• Offers ongoing training, supervision, and support for medical staff, with a focus on quality care, trauma-informed practice, and safety.
• Creates training opportunities to ensure staff adhere to best practices and maintain clinical excellence.
• Acts as liaison between medical staff and executive leadership to ensure alignment with agency goals.

Program Development & Quality Improvement

• Collaborates with the Director of Crisis Services and the Agency's Medical Director to optimize medical and psychiatric care across crisis programs.
• Supports program development and continuous quality improvement efforts, using data to identify trends, monitor key metrics, and implement strategic changes.
• Leads or participates in initiatives aimed at improving service access, care integration, patient safety, and documentation quality.
• Coordinates audits, incident reviews, and clinical case reviews to ensure adherence to regulatory standards and agency policies.

Collaboration and External Relations

• Strengthens and maintains professional relationships with community partners, including local hospitals, primary care providers, behavioral health clinics, and academic institutions.
• Represents DRCC in community forums or collaborative planning sessions related to behavioral health service delivery.
• Promotes the Crisis Center as a teaching site and builds affiliations with medical schools and residency programs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).
• Active and unrestricted license to practice in the State of Georgia.
• Board certification in Psychiatry.
• Active DEA license with ability to prescribe controlled substances.
• At least 3 years of post-graduate psychiatric experience, and experience in a supervisory or leadership role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in crisis care, inpatient psychiatry, or community behavioral health programs.
• Familiarity with electronic health records (EHR) and healthcare quality standards (e.g., CARF, DBHDD, Carelon).
• Experience providing clinical supervision to APRNs or PAs or interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience with performance improvement, clinical audits, or accreditation processes.

Key Competencies

• Strong clinical decision-making and psychiatric diagnostic skills.
• Ability to lead and mentor multidisciplinary medical teams.
• Knowledge of behavioral health systems, emergency psychiatry, and withdrawal management.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Commitment to trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and culturally responsive care.
• Data literacy and ability to apply metrics to support clinical operations and improvement.