Tag: Clinician Resources

Over the past few years, child and adolescent psychiatrists have experienced a surge in demand due to the pandemic’s impact on children’s mental health. While many parts of the country have suffered from a shortage of child and adolescent providers for many years, the disruptions of COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented mental health crisis. Only last year, the surgeon general declared a national emergency for child and adolescent mental health.

Given this landscape, there are ample opportunities for child psychiatrists to provide help to patients across the U.S. With so many career and development opportunities, it’s critical for you to choose the position that is the best fit for you and your goals.

However, finding a fulfilling, flexible, and impactful job as a child psychiatrist can be difficult. That’s why, we’re here to help you get off to the right start and set yourself up for success (while preventing burnout). Read on to learn how you can find the best culture, setting, and organizational fit for you.

Finding the right care setting for you

There are some environments and work settings that will always have a high demand, like outpatient mental health centers, for example. Many providers go into outpatient care because of their interest in child development. With outpatient work, you can often see a child until they’re an adult and cultivate a long-term relationship with them.

Knowing what type of child and adolescent patient population you want to work with can help you narrow in on what care setting will work best for you.. However, this insight might develop over time. As you go through your career, clarity about whether you want to provide care for a specialty population, a specific age group, or specific diagnoses will become clearer. You might even have a good idea of your preference as early as your residency or medical school rotations. While you’re still early in your child psychiatry career, it’s okay to not have it all figured out yet.

Finding a good organizational fit

Securing a good organizational fit with a telepsychiatry vendor should be one of your biggest priorities as a child psychiatrist. By finding the right fit, you’ll be well positioned to deliver high-quality services to your patients while achieving long-term job satisfaction. However, finding the right position is more than just getting a spot on someone’s team.

When it comes to finding the right position for you at a healthcare organization or telepsychiatry company, asking detailed questions about the systems already in place for their clinicians is key to understanding the type of support and resources you’ll have available.

Here are four questions to ask your next employer to determine whether they’re a good fit for you:

1. What support structures are available? Knowing what support structures are available to you is crucial to understanding how a given organization treats their providers. Support at a company or organization can look like having someone available to answer your questions, providing equipment for your practice, or even offering PTO and other benefits to their providers (we provide all of that and more for our Iris clinicians).
2. What is the organization’s turnover rate? A high turnover rate can be a red flag indicating the organization is not meeting their providers’ needs – or, for a telepsychiatry company, making suitable matches for their providers. A low retention rate can raise questions about the workplace culture and values.
3. Who is responsible for licensing, credentialing, and malpractice insurance? These administrative tasks can seem daunting to do alone. Working with an organization that handles or supports these tasks can make your work life a little easier, giving you time back to be the best child psychiatrist you can be. At Iris Telehealth, we tackle all the licensing, credentialing, and burdensome administrative work so our providers can focus on what they love most – providing exceptional care to their patients.
4. How does placement work? Here at Iris, we provide matches based on experience, schedule preferences, prescribing philosophies, personality match, and much more.

How telepsychiatry can set you up for success

Telepsychiatry can help close the mental health care gap in rural areas for adults and children alike. For some youth experiencing mental health conditions or increased stress, it can be difficult to access appropriate, effective mental health care.

However, especially early in your career, it is important to learn how to use telepsychiatry effectively – whether or not you’re interested in a position as a full-time telepsychiatrist.

If you are using telepsychiatry with your patients, these tips can help you effectively provide care to your patients:

1. Establish parameters with parents. When working with children and adolescents, it is vital for child psychiatrists to ask parents to agree to confidentiality rules before treating their young patients. Confidentiality is key to providing effective treatment as it can help build a relationship between you and the patient. The same expectation for confidentiality for in-person visits should be adhered to during virtual appointments.
2. Check in with the child and parents. It is not safe to assume that adolescents are immediately comfortable with telepsychiatry, even if they are accustomed to technology through video games or social media usage. By checking in with them to see how they’re feeling about this modality, you can alter the method of care as needed and build a strong relationship with your patients.
3. Adjust your camera setup. It can be helpful to zoom in and out with your equipment to observe kids play. By having the same vantage point as if you were in the office, you can provide better care.

Resources and training opportunities

Continuing medical education (CME) is important to facilitate life-long learning as a provider. By developing your skills and expanding your knowledge as a child psychiatrist, you can improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Here are some resources that can help you as you continue your journey as a child psychiatrist:

1. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Telepsychiatry Toolkit: This toolkit covers a broad range of topics related to the implementation of mental health services for children and adolescents. Some areas include legal and safety issues, setting up your practice, telepsychiatry with children and adolescents, and working with special populations.
2. AACAP’s Online CME Courses: The AACAP offers multiple self-study courses that can help your individual educational needs through videos and lectures. They also provide a test to gauge your learning.
3. Medscape’s CME Learning Center: Medscape offers a comprehensive list of resources for child and adolescent psychiatrists. Various topics include telehealth, clinician burnout, management, and providing care to specific populations.

How Iris Telehealth can help

At Iris Telehealth, we take provider placement very seriously. Our matching process is set up to make sure you get placed at the best healthcare organization for your long-term goals, patient preference, and schedule. Your dream job could be here at Iris Telehealth.

We provide equipment, 24/7 tech support, CME credit, and malpractice insurance for our clinicians to support and help them thrive. In addition, we connect our clinicians with providers who can offer long-term career advice. Contact us today to see if our telepsychiatry services are right for you.

Job hunting can be a stressful process, and there’s a lot to consider when navigating your next career move. As a psychiatrist, finding a job that prioritizes your well-being is essential. After all, being a mental health professional is tough, and provider burnout is a serious issue affecting 78% of psychiatrists. While the psychiatry field is full of opportunities, it’s crucial to pick the right one to ensure you avoid burnout and love your work.

So, how can you find a fulfilling, flexible job that gives you ample time with family and friends? Read on to learn how you can find that perfect fit.

Know what you want

Psychiatrists spend an average of 48 hours at work per week, and 60% of that time is spent with patients. Additionally, psychiatrists report above-average stress related to their work environment and the complexities of their jobs. That means ensuring your work environment encompasses what you want is essential whether you’re onsite seeing patients or conducting telepsychiatry appointments from home.

As you search for the right fit, consider the following:

• Time zone difference (telepsychiatry)
• Patient population
• Patient volume
• Work/life balance
• Amount of paperwork
• Flexibility

Most importantly, be honest with yourself and realistic about what you want. Whether that’s your desired schedule, patient volume, or team culture — you shouldn’t have to settle. Creating a list can help identify what you need from a position and help you stay true to what’s negotiable and non-negotiable for you. These boundaries can help create longevity and happiness over time.

Questions for a potential employer

The job market for psychiatrists is rife with opportunity, and it’s projected to grow by 13% in the next decade, significantly outpacing other healthcare professions like pediatricians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists. Simultaneously, the U.S. is also experiencing a provider shortage, and the need for psychiatrists is great. That surplus of opportunity makes it all the more important to find the perfect fit that will help you thrive.

The following questions can help you narrow in on the right position.

Compensation

• What’s their pay structure?
• What’s their no-show rate?
• Will you be paid fee-for-service?
• Who is responsible for taxes?

Administrative

• What type of electronic medical record do they use?
• Who is responsible for their licensing? Credentialing? Malpractice insurance?

Growth

• How many partners do they work with?
• How long has the company been in business? How have they grown?

Culture

• What does their company value?
• Is the organization mission-driven?

At Iris Telehealth, we make our values clear from the beginning. From creating a culture that promotes a positive work-life balance to ensuring less administrative paperwork and excellent benefits — we prioritize people over all else.

Telepsychiatry companies and the importance of job matching

If you’ve ever worked for a medical group, telepsychiatry company, or staffing agency, you’ve probably witnessed good and bad job matching. How an organization approaches job matching can make a big difference in quality.

For telepsychiatry companies, a provider might be matched at random — or they might be matched thoughtfully based on experience and need. If you’ve only worked for healthcare organizations directly, you’ve most likely not dealt with job matching, but if you’re considering working with a telepsychiatry company to expand your options, it’s something you should be aware of.

Acknowledging red flags

As a mental health professional, chances are there have been times when you’ve felt undervalued. Or, maybe you’ve worked in a healthcare system that didn’t prioritize quality care. Whether you’ve dealt with long commutes, troublesome work politics, or disorganization, you know a job can quickly turn stressful.

Being able to identify and acknowledge red flags is an integral part of the job search. Below are three common red flags you should take note of during your job hunt.

1. They’re not getting to know you: The company you’re talking to should try to get to know you as a person, understand what you like about a job, and understand your personality. When companies take this extra step, it shows they care about making sure their providers are placed somewhere that aligns with the work they want to do and the values they hold.
2. They’re not giving you information about your placement: If the company isn’t giving you information about your placement, chances are they might take a “plug and play” approach. This approach makes matches based on age and licenses, without regard to a provider’s preference towards things like desired schedule or population. That said, it’s also important to make sure you have the specialization to serve the population they’re asking you to see. All of this can make a big difference in whether or not the company can provide longevity.
3. They have a high turnover rate: Does the company have a swinging door or providers coming and going? If so, this can be indicative that the telehealth company or staffing agency isn’t making suitable matches. If you suspect their retention is low, it could be helpful to ask how often their clinicians switch jobs or change sites. Additionally, it’s always best practice to check out a company’s Glassdoor page. Company review websites like Glassdoor can provide insights into turnover rates, culture, and whether they live up to their mission and values.

Transparency is key. That’s why at Iris, we get to know our providers first to ensure we can find the right job or clinic placement for them. We pride ourselves on being upfront with all of the necessary details that will affect your day-to-day and job satisfaction. From the clinical setting to the scheduling details to our prescribing philosophy, we are committed to ensuring the role is the right match for you.

Finding the perfect fit

The perfect fit means that you’ll be able to do great, meaningful work and have time for the important stuff. The right job should also include excellent benefits, have a great culture, and allow you to enjoy the work-life balance you’ve always dreamed of. At Iris, we surveyed our providers to determine why they saw Iris as the perfect fit, and four reasons stood out among the rest.

1. Communication and organization
2. Staff connection
3. Iris’ match commitment
4. Unparalleled clinical support

The benefits of working somewhere that aligns with your goals and values is indispensable. Where you spend your time matters, and for providers at the frontlines of the country’s behavioral health challenges, making sure you have the work/life balance you need to make time for yourself and your family and friends is of the utmost importance. As a mental health professional, you should be respected, valued, and applauded for your work, and finding an employer who aligns with that mission is essential.

Love your work and save the world

At Iris Telehealth, we prioritize the wellbeing of our providers over everything else. Work-life balance is a top priority, and we create a flexible, fulfilling culture that helps you spend more time caring for patients and less time on paperwork — we take care of that for you.

Through our telepsychiatry services, Iris providers deliver care to the patient populations who need it most and help healthcare organizations achieve their goals through clinically sound and financially sustainable psychiatry programs. If you want to learn more about working for us, contact us today.