Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences (Clinician Educator)

Licensed Psychiatrist for USC Counseling and Mental Health

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences (Clinician Educator)

Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC

The Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is seeking a board certified (preferred) or board eligible Adolescent/Adult Psychiatrist to care for USC students. We are seeking an experienced psychiatrist to join a diverse and dynamic multidisciplinary team who are strongly committed to providing excellent, multiculturally competent, clinical treatment to USC students and training to medical residents. We are seeking candidates who are reflective of our diverse student population and who have strong clinical skills, are familiar with the duties associated with a university counseling center, and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, collegial, professional environment. 

This is a clinical faculty position with an academic appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and clinical service assignments in USC Student Health, Counseling and Mental Health Services. A generous benefits package includes: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term care, disability, malpractice coverage and more (information about benefits can be found here); significant retirement benefits (USC makes a 10% contribution when you contribute 5%); tuition assistance for you and your family; paid professional days and parental leave; access to free continuing education credits through our Grand Rounds lecture series; and generous paid time off.

Description of Counseling and Mental Health

USC’s Counseling and Mental Health Services provides mental health services to students to help them best achieve their academic and personal goals. Services include: individual and group counseling; assessment and referral to other professionals and institutions; crisis intervention (including some after-hours coverage); case management; psychiatric evaluations and medication follow-up; consultation; outreach and prevention; and training and supervision. Our students benefit from multidisciplinary collaboration, and we adopt a bio-psycho-social approach in our work whenever appropriate.

We are committed to providing quality mental and educational services in accordance with the ethical and legal standards of our profession. We appreciate and honor diversity and work with all students with compassion, respect, and dignity. We advocate for and empower our students in pursuing their goals and personal development.

Training is an important function in our center. We are committed to providing professional training opportunities for trainees in psychology, social work, family medicine, and psychiatry (i.e., medical student and residency electives). The entire faculty is involved in our training programs including individual supervision, group supervision, case consults, and/or seminars. The training also includes participating in and promoting self-reflection.

We are committed to creating a work environment characterized by respect, mutual support, and teamwork, and the sharing of diverse opinions among our faculty. We value and honor the diversity of the students we serve as well as the diversity of our faculty and the unique contributions of each member. Faculty are committed to ongoing learning, self-awareness, and cultural competency. 

Essential Functions:   

• Report to and work closely with the Associate Director of Student Psychiatric Services.
• Provide direct outpatient psychiatric care including collaborative evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders for USC students. This includes up to 32 hours per week of direct face-to-face patient care.
• Work assignment will include several 4-hour Saturday shifts via Telemedicine during each semester between September through May that will be distributed equally among the psychiatry team.
• Work assignment will also include one late weekday night per week (until 7pm).
• Facilitate higher level of care referrals and hospitalizations, when needed.  
• Support medication treatment with brief supportive therapy and motivational interviewing when indicated.
• Cover on-call emergencies, as assigned. This includes being available for urgent medication issues of patients on assigned workdays.
  • Currently there are no overnight on-call duties for psychiatrists, but on-call duties may be assigned based on clinical needs and will be distributed evenly amongst psychiatrists based on FTE.

• Complete documentation in a timely manner and in compliance with departmental policies (currently within 48 hours).
• Attend weekly multidisciplinary faculty and staff meetings. 
• Provide professional consultation to Student Health medical providers, academic, professional and department advisors, and to staff of other campus departments on mental health issues and emergencies. 
• Collaborate and consult with other mental health providers (especially related to high-risk students) and with primary care medical providers who may also provide psychiatric medication management to students.   
• Attend and contribute to various CMH, Student Health, Psychiatry Departmental and campus meetings, fostering educational objectives and a consultative collegial environment.  
• Participate in yearly merit review and performance evaluations, peer review, quality improvement activities and other unit, departmental, and division teams and committees.  
• Provide supervision of psychiatry residents (PGY4s).
• Attend Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds, Social Justice Forums, and Department Matters meetings.
• Schedules reflect a hybrid of telemedicine and in-person clinic.  THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must be a State of California Licensed Physician and a board certified (preferred) or board eligible psychiatrist.
• Experience in short term treatment, including stabilization and crisis intervention.
• Multicultural competency in working with students of color, students from all economic classes, first generation students, LGBTQ students, and international students.
• Resilient, self-aware, and able to thrive in a fast paced, demanding environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with university students, LGBTQIA populations, and international students.
• Experience working with issues encountered in early and emerging adulthood, including identity issues (e.g., sexual identity, gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, etc.), sexual trauma, eating disorders, and substance use disorders.
• An advanced practice clinician possessing well-developed clinical and psychopharmacological skills and the willingness to support the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines for student-patients.  
• Effectively works in a highly diverse and multicultural student population and LGBTQ affirmative environment; experience and commitment to working with minoritized individuals.
• Interest and skill in an integrated approach to care.
• Commitment to the highest ethical standards of professional practice and to professional integrity.
• Commitment to professional growth through lifelong learning and keeping up-to-date with new psychiatric guidelines, recommendations, and treatment options.
• Foreign language skills are welcome.

Application Deadline: Until position is filled.

Starting Date: Negotiable

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the "Trojan Family," which is comprised of the faculty, students and staff that make the university what it is. USC is one of the world’s leading private research universities with approximately 48,500 students from all 50 states and boasts one of the largest international student bodies in the country. USC is located in the heart of Los Angeles, a culturally rich metropolitan city with a large ethnic and economically diverse population and is close to both beach and mountains with wonderful outdoor recreation opportunities. The mild temperatures along with the city’s average of 329 days of sun per year makes Los Angeles a wonderful city to live and work.

The annual base salary range for this position is $215,250-$300.000.  When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences is committed to attracting and nurturing a diverse community dedicated to providing culturally informed, high-quality behavioral healthcare to a multicultural population. Both in our work environment and clinical practice, we embrace diversity across multiple dimensions. We aim to provide a safe, inclusive environment for our faculty, staff, residents, fellows, trainees, volunteers, patients, colleagues, and the multitude of stakeholders with whom we work. Through our clinical services, educational programs, research studies, and policy initiatives, we are committed to addressing health care disparities for historically underserved groups; to combating racism and anti-Blackness at all levels; and to promoting and ensuring social justice.

USC strongly values diversity, equity, and inclusion and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status. All genders, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, veterans, bicultural/multicultural and bilingual/multilingual individuals are encouraged to apply.