Physician (Adult Internal Medicine, General Medicine)

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.

Portland is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated in the northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Portland is known for having the amenities of a major city (such as an international airport, an efficient public transit system, major league sports teams and many museums and art galleries) and the charms of a small city (such as plentiful arts and crafts fairs, independent bookstores and local traditions like the annual Rose Festival Parade). Rain or shine, you can take advantage of the city's proximity to nature by playing in the Willamette River, wandering through lush public parks and gardens, biking the city's 162 miles (261 km) of bike lanes and hiking trails both within city limits and in the nearby Columbia River Gorge.

A specialist in general internal medicine provides direct comprehensive patient care in an outpatient and/or hospital setting to adults with acute and chronic medical conditions and serves as a consultant to other physicians. The internist is expert in history taking, physical examination, test interpretation, differential diagnosis, medical therapeutics, screening and prevention of disease, panel management, and patient counseling. The internist evaluates and manages adolescents and adults who have single or multiple disorders in all subspecialties in the field of internal medicine. General internists provide care to patients in primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings.

A general internist at the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is assigned as a clinician-educator to the Section of General Internal Medicine. As assigned by the section chief, clinical duties will include:

• Continuity primary care practice (outpatient clinics)
• Precepting medical residents in their primary care clinics
• Overseeing longitudinal patient care for residents assigned to the staff member ("linked residents")
• Inpatient general medicine ward attending, if desired
• Telemedicine including phone and video visits
• Indirect patient care: returning telephone calls, responding to patient emails, reviewing and renewing prescriptions, reviewing laboratory and imaging data, communicating results to patients, and participation in panel management activities with members of the primary care medical home team.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified applicants.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V20CompensationTeam@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: Monday-Friday 0800-1630

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: Post-residency training or experience as a clinician-educator (e.g., general medicine fellowship, chief residency, master's or PhD/EdD degree, or considerable experience as an educator and clinician) or clinician-researcher (e.g., MPH/PhD, general medicine or other research fellowship) is preferred.

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

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (15-44lbs); Light lifting (under 15lbs); Light carrying (under 15lbs); Straight pulling (1 hour); Pushing ( hours); Reaching above shoulders; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (12 hours); Standing (12 hours); Kneeling (1 hour); Repeated bending (1 hour); Climbing, legs only (1 hour); Both legs required; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing (aid may be permitted); Mental and emotional stability.

Environmental Factors: Excessive noise, intermittent; Constant noise; Dust; Radiant energy; Electrical energy; Slippery or uneven walking surfaces; Working around machinery with moving parts; Working around moving objects or vehicles; Working closely with others; Working alone; Protracted or irregular hours of work.

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.