Successful candidate will provide one-time psychiatric assessment of children and youth with special needs, ages 5 years up to age 18-19 years involving collaboration with the family physician and or pediatrician. Collaborative care would involve the assessment of the child/youth and would include consultation as needed with primary supports, teachers etc.

After the assessment, when needed, follow-up telephone consultation(s) with the primary physician(s) could occur. The advice from the DDMHT Consultant Psychiatrist would be to provide individualized recommendations for the child or youth and also to help increase the primary physician’s overall knowledge base of mental health issues for C&Y with special needs. Follow-up reviews or reassessments would be at the discretion of the Consultant in discussion with CYSN SW and DDMHT, as a one-time assessment only model would be the usual expected practice.

Scope of Practice- This is a Consultative service only and primary clinical responsibility would remain with the family physician and or pediatrician. The Consultant would not take over care.

Referral source and eligibility- would be through Social Workers under Child and Youth with Special Needs (CYSN), MCFD in liaison with the DDMHT Coordinator. This is to ensure that this limited specialized service is directed to those children and youth with special needs (ASD, FASD, CP etc) that currently do not have access to or do not meet the core DDMHT services and who may also have difficulty meeting criteria for MCFD CYMH services or Island Health C&A psychiatric services.

Collaboration-The primary physician and pediatrician or other involved specialists must be in favour of the Consultation for it to proceed. This will be required in writing prior to acceptance of the referral as collaboration is key to the success of this service model.

Geographical coverage of service- Children and youth with Special Needs from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands would be eligible, though the Consultant will not be able to travel out of Victoria to see patients. Out of town patients could travel to Victoria to see the Psychiatrist in person or have a telehealth consultation arranged.

Coordination for this service would be done by the CYSN MCFD Liaison SW working with the DDMHT Program Coordinator. A completed referral package including current information and past medical reports would be the responsibility of the CYSN social worker and the expectation would be that this documentation would be gathered before the assessment to allow the Consultant time to review past documentation prior to seeing the child/youth.

Arranging of appointments and notification of attendees as to date and time would be through the designated CYSN SW with liaison with the DDMHT Consultant and DDMHT Coordinator.

On call responsibility is mandatory for Island Health psychiatry services.

As Island Health is part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine Island Medical Program there is opportunity for training of medical students and residents and applying for a clinical appointment is expected.

Participation in research is strongly encouraged and facilitated by Island Health.

Administrative duties of the position include attending clinical team meetings and providing reports to the Department of Psychiatry meetings.

This position can be combined with other Island Health Child and Adolescent psychiatry opportunities to create an exciting employment opportunity that is tailored to a candidate's interests and skill set. Please inquire to discuss.

Benefits:

Appropriate space would be available at the DDMHT office in Victoria with adequate notice given to the DDMHT administrative staff (depending upon availability).

If appropriate, or if space is not available at DDMHT, assessments could occur in other locations in Victoria, including patient’s home, school or at the CYSN offices.

Start Date:

As soon as possible

Community Information:

Victoria, British Columbia’s scenic capital, is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty and enviable quality of life, this is an ideal place to pursue your medical career and create the kind of lifestyle only dreamt about. Few areas in the world can match BC’s scope of outdoor activities, with Vancouver Island offering everything from skiing and snowboarding, to golf, and world-class fishing. With Victoria’s temperate climate, its rich heritage and vibrant cultural scene, it provides the very best of urban and rural living.