Physician (Palliative)

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provide physician services consistent with hospice and palliative care philosophy. Consult with attending staff as requested so that pain and symptom management for patients is effectively and expeditiously accomplished.
• Provide inpatient medical care to the Veterans on the CLC Hospice and Palliative Care Unit.
• Provide inpatient and outpatient consultation services in palliative care.
• Provide outpatient longitudinal management of veterans across transitions of care
• Provide outpatient palliative care services via face-to-face and telehealth clinics and services
• Provide care in the role of hospice physician of record with active management of veterans of the Atlanta VA utilizing community hospice
• Be an active participant and facilitate clarification and the development of patient and family goals of care.
• Facilitate access to appropriate supportive care services.
• Full and appropriate documentation of patients care services to support professional billing for these services.
• Consult with the Interdisciplinary Team in establishing plan of care.
• Weekly participation in interdisciplinary team meetings to review active cases.
• Participation in on-call coverage for the inpatient palliative care service, palliative care unit and community hospice patients.
• Develop and provide education to Atlanta VA staff and coworkers.
• Adhere to the practice of confidentiality regarding patients, families, staff, and the organization.
• Be involved in analysis of data leading to the development of hospital policies and protocols for the improvement of quality of care.
• Analyze workload data and work with teams to maximize productivity.
• Performs other duties as assigned by management.

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

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: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Subject to change based on Agency Needs.

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.
• 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.
• 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), b) 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.
  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.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience: Board certified/board eligible for certification in hospice and palliative medicine. Candidates completing training in hospice and palliative medicine who will be eligible for board certification at completion of training will be considered.

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

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds; straight pulling (1 hour); pushing (1 hour); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; walking (5 hours);standing (4 hours); kneeling (1 hour); repeated bending (4 hours); both legs required; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far-vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40in the other; hearing (aid permitted); mental and emotional stability required; Mental/Emotional Stability.

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.