Staff Physician (Rheumatology) - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive/EDRP Authorized

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Rheumatology physicians (rheumatologists) are specialized internists who focus on diagnosing, treating, and managing autoimmune diseases, musculoskeletal conditions, and systemic inflammatory disorders. They often act as "medical detectives" to identify the cause of complex, chronic, or vague symptoms affecting joints, muscles, bones, and sometimes internal organs.

Their typical duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Diagnostic Duties

• Comprehensive Evaluations: Conducting detailed medical history reviews and physical examinations to identify inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and pain in joints and connective tissues.
• Laboratory Analysis: Ordering and interpreting blood tests for inflammation markers (e.g., CRP, ESR), autoantibodies (e.g., ANA, RF), and other markers of rheumatic diseases.
• Imaging Interpretation: Ordering and interpreting X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs to detect joint damage.
• Joint Fluid Analysis: Performing joint aspirations (arthrocentesis) to analyze synovial fluid for infection or crystals, such as in gout.

Treatment and Management Duties

• Developing Treatment Plans: Creating personalized, non-surgical treatment plans for over 100 conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, and fibromyalgia.
• Medication Management: Prescribing and managing therapies, including disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), biological agents (biologics), immunosuppressants, and corticosteroids.
• Joint Injections: Administering joint or soft tissue injections (corticosteroids) to reduce inflammation directly.
• Long-term Monitoring: Conducting regular follow-up visits to monitor disease progression, evaluate treatment efficacy, and adjust medications to prevent permanent joint/organ damage.

Patient Care and Collaboration

• Patient Education and Counseling: Educating patients on managing their condition, including advice on lifestyle modifications (exercise, diet, quitting smoking) to reduce inflammation.
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Working with other healthcare professionals, including primary care providers, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and nurses to coordinate care.
• Referrals: Coordinating with specialized surgeons (e.g., orthopedic surgeons) when conservative, non-surgical treatments are not sufficient to manage damage.

Commonly Treated Conditions

• Autoimmune diseases: Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), Sjogren's syndrome, Scleroderma.
• Inflammatory arthritis: Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis.
• Degenerative joint diseases: Osteoarthritis.
• Metabolic bone diseases: Osteoporosis.
• Soft tissue disorders: Tendinitis, Bursitis, Fibromyalgia.

North Texas Health Care System Rheumatology Privilege settings include the Dallas VA Medical Center, Ambulatory Care Clinics and inpatient medical/surgical units, the Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic, and telemedicine for staff trained in the use of the telemedicine modality, and receiving, reviewing, and acting upon consults and E-consults.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be available for highly-qualified Candidate(s)
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting
Work Schedule: TBD (Typically: M-F, 0800-1630 CST)

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Language Proficiency: Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Education: Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• License: Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are:
  • (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), OR
  • (2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  • (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.

Residency Note: Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are:

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.]

Note: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (15-44 pounds); Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Use of fingers; Both hand required; Walking (3 hours); Standing (1 hour); Climbing, legs only (0.5 hours); Both legs required: Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Have sight; Both eyes required; Depth perception; Hearing (aid may be permitted).