The Department of Psychiatry at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) has an opportunity for two full-time General Psychiatrists.

Nanaimo’s Department of Psychiatry consists of adult, child and youth and geriatric psychiatrists working in community and acute settings. Acute services are provided at NRGH, which has 224 acute care beds and a 24-bed inpatient psychiatry unit. In September 2012 our new Emergency Department opened, which a 4-bed Psychiatric intensive Care Unit (PICU) and busy Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES). 

The successful candidate(s) would support outpatient services, and could include the option to provide Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) if adequately trained. 

Community services may consist of attachment to community mental health and substance use treatment teams providing rehab support and case management for adults or with consultation and psychiatric clinical services for primary care referrals.  Hospital service opportunities arise as they become available.

The successful candidate(s) would be joining a collegial psychiatrist group from acute and community settings within the Nanaimo Mental Health and Substance Use programs. Psychiatrists are valuable members of a collaborative interdisciplinary team that includes case management clinicians, nursing, occupational therapists, rehab support, social work and psychology working together providing comprehensive psychosocial rehabilitation within a recovery orientated, culturally safe, and trauma informed framework.

 Caseload management: expectation for the community practice is approximately 240-300 clients (ca. 30 per 0.1 FTE), seeing a few new clients every week, managing and discharging community caseload patients, and receiving discharges from ED, hospital inpatient units; as well as referrals from community family practice. 

The guideline for work responsibilities suggests that at least 0.8 FTE will be dedicated to the system requirements of the health authority, and up to 0.2 FTE can be dedicated to special interests or pursuits, like clinical interests, teaching, or research.

Full-scope general psychiatric practice would include evaluation and treatment of mood disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, OCD, PTSD, personality disorders, ADHD, ASD, eating disorders, adjustment disorders, somatic symptom or functional disorders, brain injury, neurological disorders, and psychiatric aspects of medical conditions. 

On-call responsibility is mandatory for Island Health psychiatrists, under a Departmental MOCAP contract, and averages one weekend day every 4-6 weeks. After hours phone coverage is shared with a second psychiatrist for the following week.  Stat holidays are evenly shared across the Department, and Christmas two-week is split evenly as well.   

NRGH is a UBC Postgraduate Family Practice Residency Program site providing opportunities for teaching second year family practice residents in the community-based practice is an opportunity, as is didactics in psychiatry.  Further, we anticipate starting a psychiatric residency electives program by 2025 where staff participation in teaching, mentorship, and supervision would be expected.

Cross-coverage for other psychiatrists in the community is a standard etiquette, and it would be expected to do some inpatient cross-coverage.  Joining the ECT rotation is negotiable if space opens up.

Administrative duties of the position, funded by a sessional payment plan, include attending departmental and multidisciplinary meetings. We provide administrative staff, computer system, integrated EMR, and office space.

Start Date

As soon as possible 

Community Information

Nanaimo, an exciting urban community with a breathtaking waterfront, provides an opportunity to enjoy an active exciting lifestyle with a multitude of year-round recreational opportunities including golf, mountain biking and walking trails, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing, or dive to explore three artificial reefs created by wrecks sunk in the harbour. In winter, both downhill and cross-country skiing can be enjoyed at Mount Washington, just 1.5 hours north. This vibrant, growing city of 120,000, is a great place to raise a family and boasts its own symphony and theater, offers post-secondary education at the Vancouver Island University, is just 15 minutes by seaplane or ferry to downtown Vancouver and a pleasant drive to Victoria.