Physician (ACOS for Education)

Education and length of practice are considered through a formal pay-setting process to determine the final compensable salary (Base Pay + Market Pay)

The Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) in Montgomery is one of the largest and most historic VA medical facilities in the Southeast, with a rich legacy and a wide range of services. It's one of the VA's leading training sites, affiliated with 24 academic and professional institutions such as Morehouse School of Medicine, Alabama State University, Auburn University, and Tuskegee University

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Not Authorized

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

Duties:

• • The Associate Chief of Staff for Education will be expected to participate in clinical care within their area of specialty. Responsibilities of the incumbent will include approximately 80% administrative and 20% clinical duties.
  • The incumbent leads the academic mission of the CAVHCS with oversight, responsibility, and accountability for all accredited and affiliated clinical trainee programs within the CAVHCS in accordance with the Office of Academic Affiliations/Graduate Medical Education (OAA/GME) and other Veterans Administration guidance and applicable accrediting body standards. The Associate Chief of Staff for Education maintains the quality of relationships with affiliates and the quality of the local learning environment.
• • Providing leadership and collaboration in planning, managing, supervising and executing various Graduate Medical Education, Mental Health Psychology, Acute Care, Pharmacy, Geriatric and Podiatric Resident training programs, Associated Health Professions Programs, VA Special Fellows, Internships, and a Clinical Pastoral Education program.
• • Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with affiliates, serving as the principal liaison with sponsoring institutions designated institutional officials (D1O) and education leaders in the academic programs.
  • Serving as the CAVHCS Liaison to the Graduate Medical Education Council of the primary affiliated institution.
  • Managing education affiliations and agreements for the CAVHCS.
  • Serving as a member of the CAVHCS Medical Executive Committee and other facility committees as appointed.
  • Facilitating appointment of Veteran's Affairs staff and appropriate affiliate institution program faculty to the Academic Partnership Council.
  • Chairing the Graduate Medical Education Committee (Residency Review Committee) and reporting to the Medical Executive Committee on the safety and quality of patient care provided to trainees.
  • Ensuring completion of the Annual Report of Residency Training Programs (ARRTP) and coordinating with the Chief of Staff for report submission by the Facility Director.
  • Ensuring that trainees rotating to CAVHCS are sponsored by affiliated institutions with current affiliation agreements.

  • Ensuring that applicable Trainee Qualifications and Credentials Verification Letter (TQCVL) requirements are met.

  • Ensuring that all residents and trainees with completed applications have appropriate VA appointments through Human Resources, including Without Compensation (WOC) appointment letters when appropriate as well as appropriate security screening.

  • Ensuring that necessary aspects of orientation are completed, including privacy training, computer security training, PIV card access, and Computerized Patient Records System (CPRS) Training.

  • Supervising residents, personnel and budget assigned with oversight of resident's payroll, leave requests and processing for future assignments within the facilities.

  • Providing oversight to ensure trainees have proper clinical supervision in place and are monitored according to required guidelines.

  • Collaborating with and providing feedback to Service Chiefs and Chief of Staff when deficiencies in supervision or aspects of program management are identified.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Subject to change based on the needs of the agency

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. The ACOS for Education must provide mentorship, curriculum development, and scholarly academic programs. Must be able to bridge clinical practice with the education of future healthcare professionals. Experience within a teaching hospital or academic institution, including involvement in residency or fellowship training programs. Experience in creating, updating, or implementing medical curricula, educational workshops, or simulation-based training.

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

Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. however, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

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.