Come work as a Virtual Physician with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)!

This role will include virtual physician support on weekends for up to three specific mental health teams operating primarily in the downtown eastside in Vancouver:

• Mobile Crisis De-escalation (MoDe) team - a non-police, same-day crisis response team individuals in the inner city who are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis
• Acute Home Based Treatment (AHBT) team - a short term mental health stabilization team for patients with moderate decompensations, who can be managed in the community
• Indigenous Crisis Response Team (ICRT) - an Indigenous-specific crisis response service

The interdisciplinary teams work closely with community service providers including shelter and supportive housing staff to provide a community-based, healthcare-led crisis response, post-crisis follow up, and service navigation. AHBT works closely with nurses, psychiatrists and other allied health to support patients in the immediate stabilization after a mental health decompensation.

This role is ideal for physicians/NPs who are already working on the weekend and want to stack call shifts, or who would like to work from home.

Physician scope / activities, which will be delivered on-call, remotely:

• Provide on-call, virtual, episodic care to patients, who will be initially assessed by our nurses in-person on Saturdays or Sundays from 0800-1900
• Liaise with nursing staff who are on site (mostly in shelters and supported housing buildings) to create an episodic care plan for a patient and determine which services they will be bridged to
• Coordinating with the other physicians/NPs on the team as needed to ensure continuity of care
• This episodic care could require:
• Antipsychotic titration for mental health decompensation
• Virtual certification with a Form 4 (on rare occasions)
• Care coordination, as well as liaison with psychiatrists

You will need to use Profile EMR, PARIS as well as Cerner for this role, and will be compensated for any training required.

In keeping with the spirit of meeting patients where they are, other episodic care needs may also need to be addressed, including:

• Skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) management
• Bridging scripts for opiate agonist management

As this is a pilot program, we anticipate the call volume to be low in the beginning, and compensation would be equivalent to 1 session for each 10 hour shift on the weekend. This would be rapidly adjusted as demand picks up.

Education, Licensing, & Experience:

• Current College of Physicians of BC (CPSBC)- Full
• Canadian College of Family Practitioners (CCFP) - Mandatory
• Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA)- Mandatory
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC) - Desired

Interested in applying? Feel free to reach out to Ben Murphy, Executive and Medical Staff Talent Acquisition Advisor: medstaffcareers@vch.ca or click “Apply Now.”

Please note that a resume and coverletter are required to apply for this position.

As per Ministry of Health policy, all health care workers working in publicly-funded health care facilities are required to report their past receipt of certain vaccines or history of certain infections. Collecting these records will allow for offering of any missing vaccines, and for appropriate actions to be taken in the event of any future exposure to a communicable disease or during outbreaks. For all new hires and appointments to Vancouver Coastal Health, you will be asked to provide this information as part of the onboarding process.

WHY JOIN VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH?

VCH is a world class innovator in medical care, research and teaching, delivering service to more than one million BC residents. At VCH, we embrace thinking boldly, taking smart risks, and "going first" when we believe it will lead to the best possible outcomes for patients and their families. We invite you to join us in creating healthy lives in healthy communities by showcasing our passion for care, connection to the communities we serve and our culture of teamwork that makes VCH a great place to work.

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Grow your career with employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services are available to employees and their immediate families
• Award-winning recognition programs to honour staff, medical staff and volunteers

At Vancouver Coastal Health, our vision of healthy lives in healthy communities inspires us and our values and pillars guide us. We support equitable practices, diverse teams and inclusive environments, which are vital to creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and feel supported. We encourage applications from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples and members of racialized groups, people with disabilities and people of all gender identities and expressions and sexual orientation.

Vancouver Coastal Health is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in 2024.

Thank you for your interest in Vancouver Coastal Health.