Physician - Pain Management

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salem VA Medical Center in Salem, Virginia is recruiting for a full-time, permanent, Pain Management Staff Physician. The incumbent must be board certified/eligible in Anesthesiology, Neurology, and/or Physiatry and fully qualified to diagnose, treat, stabilize, and manage patients according to standard, usual, and acceptable methods and techniques.

Clinical

• Provides a mix of consultative and follow-up patient care to Veterans in the evaluation and medical management of chronic pain conditions.
• Facilitates delivery of appropriate patient care in collaboration with other health professionals, medical center staff, and management.
• Completes medical diagnostic evaluation and initial assessment of patients including but not limited to collecting a focused history, performing necessary physical examinations, and ordering, interpreting, and integrating the results of pertinent lab investigations.
• Develops and implements treatment plans to include opioid and non-opioid pain management, appropriate testing, and non-invasive pain modalities.
• Responsible for ensuring that adequate access to care is available for both newly consulted and returning patients in outpatient clinics.
• Participates in the inpatient Pain Management consult service.
• Provides emergency consultative services and call coverage on a rotating schedule.
• Conducts interventional pain management procedures on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, including but not limited to cervical, thoracic, or lumbar epidural steroid injections; cervical or lumbar facet/nerve block/medium branch blocks; sacroiliac joint injections; Pulsed Radiofrequency; lumbar or thoracic para-vertebral sympathetic blocks; trigger point and piriformis injections; stellate ganglion blocks; occipital nerve blocks; Botox injections; trigeminal nerve blocks, illioinguinal or genitofemoral nerve blocks; and spinal cord stimulator implantation, follow-up, and maintenance.
• Engages in discussions of treatment plans with patients, family members, or other involved parties as appropriate, maintaining Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines.
• Participates peer and medical record reviews, as needed.
• Exhibits leadership in suggesting and instituting changes in patient care programs based on current concepts and findings. Keeps informed of developments in the management and treatment of diseases and illness through continuing medical education, both formal and informal.
• Coordinates patient care with additional consultants, including resources external to the VAMC, as appropriate.
• Supports the safety, occupational health, and fire protection program by the application of approved standards, regulations, practices, and work methods.
• Utilizes problem-solving methodologies to resolve issues that impact patient care and/or staff performance.

Administrative

• Provides guidance and support to Nurse Practitioners and/or Physician Assistants assigned to Pain Management section, as needed.
• Provides guidance and supervision for students, residents, and/or fellows, as requested.
• Participates as an active member of Medical Center committees, as assigned.
• Participates in facility programs designed to enhance and improve the delivery of patient care services, such as Quality Assurance & Management, chart-reviews, and performance measure reviews.
• Adheres to all information security and privacy measures set by VHA and the Medical Center.
• Annually develops and evaluates professional and personal goals.
• Completes all required clinical and administrative documentation within the prescribed timeframe.
• Identifies individual professional learning needs and participates in formal programs, workshops, seminars, conferences, and self-directed learning activities.

Academic
Applies to staff with academic faculty appointments.

• Participates in the appropriate, formal education of students, residents, and/or fellows by presenting lectures for didactic teaching, teaching rounds, providing demonstrations, etc.
• Participates in grading sessions for Health Professions Trainees (HPTs) assigned to their Section's rotation(s).
• Meets scholarly activity requirements, including peer-reviewed publication and national professional organization participation, as required.

Research

• Supports the Medical Center-wide research mission.
• Encourages participation in and facilitates clinical research among other staff and Health Professions Trainees (HPTs).
• Assists in conducting studies regarding treatment modalities, outcomes, and other aspects of patient care, abiding by all VA regulations governing research protocols/policies and/or procedures.

Customer Service

• Displays a cooperative attitude and effectively works to implement the organization's missions and goals.
• Demonstrates commitment to high quality customer service, ensuring productivity is maintained at the established level for the program. .

Work Schedule
The incumbent will be required to maintain a weekday tour of Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 4:00pm with assigned call sufficient to cover the needs of the Service, as determined by the Chief, Medical Service and the Chief of Staff. May be required to adjust scheduled tours on short notice to meet changes in prescribed workloads and deadlines.

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:

• Citizenship: Must be a Citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• Language Proficiency: Physicians appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Education: Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic or osteopathic medicine.
• Licensure and Registration: Physicians must possess a 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. NOTE: Individuals who have or have had multiple licenses and had any such license revoked for professional misconduct, professional incompetence or substandard care, or who surrendered such license after receiving written notice of potential termination of such license by the state for professional misconduct, professional incompetence, or substandard care, are not eligible for appointment to the position unless such revoked or surrendered license is fully restored.
• 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. Approved residencies are those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),or other residencies (i.e., 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. 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.
• Board Certification: Must be board certified or board eligible in Anesthesiology, Neurology, and/or Physiatry. While board-eligible candidates demonstrating high level of functioning, strong Pain Management practice skills, and previous employment history as a practicing Pain Management physician, or newly completed Pain Management fellowship trained physicians with intention to both secure and maintain board certification may be considered for appointment, a strong emphasis and preference is placed on the hiring of board certified physicians.

Preferred Experience: Experience working with a pain interdisciplinary team.

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

Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to perform all activities of the position without restriction. This position may involve standing, walking, stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and turning. The work may involve going up and down flights of stairs.

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

1. Schools of allopathic medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), or
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association.
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.

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

Education Debt Reduction Program (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.

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