Career Opportunities

The University of New Mexico Hospitals (UNMH) is seeking an Integrated Palliative Care Psychologist to join the UNMH Palliative Care Program. The Palliative Care Program provides outstanding clinical care and leadership to improve quality of life (physical, emotional, spiritual, and cultural) for patients and families dealing with serious illness. The Palliative Care team works to treat patients, families, colleagues and trainees with compassion, respect, and an appreciation of diversity; educate the current and future generations of clinicians to care for patients with advanced illness; advance the field of palliative care through research; and collaborate with local, state, and national organizations to improve palliative care services in New Mexico. The Palliative Care Psychologist will join a team composed of hospice and palliative medicine board-certified physicians, fellows, advance practice nurses, Arts-in-Medicine providers, clinical social workers, chaplains, psychologists, and administrative support staff. The Palliative Care Psychologist will have the opportunity to interact with patients, partners, families, care team members, and learners in both outpatient and inpatient medical settings as well as consultation to inpatient hospital settings. Applicants should have skills in evidenced-based assessment, intervention, consultation to medical teams, and advocacy for patients. They will serve as integral members of our interprofessional inpatient and outpatient teams. Opportunities exist for program development.

Located in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico, UNMH is an outstanding public, safety-net, academic medical system affiliated with the University of New Mexico and UNM’s School of Medicine. UNMH provides medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, and vision services to our diverse, complex, underserved communities in Bernalillo County and across the state of New Mexico. The community we serve is 49.8% Hispanic/Latino and 4.8% Native American with numerous other ethnic minority groups represented. Approximately 80% of our patients are covered by Medicaid.

UNMH has a strong tradition of interdisciplinary integrated care. The multiple clinical sites within UNMH’s Behavioral Health Clinical Services line also support an APA-accredited doctoral clinical psychology internship, as well as numerous post-doctoral fellowship programs. Psychologists are full members of the Medical Staff and have letters of academic title within the School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Psychologists are both staff and faculty, contributing to direct patient care in a variety of settings (i.e., inpatient medicine, outpatient medicine, inpatient/outpatient specialty behavioral health, as well as consultant neuropsychology and psychology) and contributing to important research that serves New Mexicans. Training is a vital part of our service to New Mexico as we seek to support learners of various levels learning the role of psychology in medical care.

RELEVANT SKILLS

·         Psychological and/or neuropsychological assessment

·         Psychotherapeutic modalities such as individual, family, or group therapy

·         Consultation

·         Program development / improvement

·         Teaching

·         Supervision

Some of the evidence-based approaches utilized at UNMH include, but are not limited to:

·         Motivational Interviewing (MI) / Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)

·         Behavioral Activation

·         Cognitive-Behavioral Relapse Prevention

·         Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Pain

·         Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) and Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT)

·         Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

·         Prolonged Exposure (PE)

·         Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy

·         Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

·         Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

·         and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

SITE

We have one opening for an Integrated Palliative Care Psychologist within UNMH. The Palliative Care Psychologist will conduct evidence-based treatments to patients presenting to the UNMH Palliative Care Program. They will provide assessment, intervention, and consultation to a wide array of comorbid psychological and medical conditions at UNMH.

UNMH offers competitive salary and a generous benefits package. Other benefits include educational reimbursement, educational leave, sign-on bonus, and relocation funds. This is a full-time, in-person position and requires routine vaccinations, a health screen, and completion of all required trainings associated with employment at UNMH.

We are committed to recruit, support and retain a diverse staff and therefore we encourage women and minority applicants.

QUALIFICATIONS:

·         Licensure or license-eligible in New Mexico

·         Have received a Doctorate from an APA accredited graduate program in Clinical, Counseling, School, or Combined Psychology. Persons with a doctorate in another area of psychology who have received re-specialization training in Clinical, Counseling, School, or Combined Psychology are also eligible.

·         Have completed an internship program accredited by the APA. The only exception regarding accreditation is for those who complete a new VA or other Federal internship that is not yet accredited. Please inquire if your internship falls into this category.

·         Applicants with relevant palliative care psychology experience are highly encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY / APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Applicants wishing to apply should submit a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to Dr. Denise Rodríguez Esquivel, Psychologist Manager of Integrated Behavioral Health Clinical Services, at drodriguezesquivel@salud.unm.edu. Notification will be done via email or phone to set up a video conferencing interview.

We look forward to your application and the many possibilities to expand your career!