Physician (Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders (SCI&D) Service Chief)

This position is eligible for Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP). You must meet eligibility requirements per VHA policy and apply within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (1 to 5 yrs) are determined by VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former participants ineligible to apply. A recruitment or relocation incentive may also be available for highly qualified candidates.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.
Recruitment or Relocation: May be available for highly qualified candidates.
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): The position is eligible for the EDRP. Learn more.

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

The incumbent will serve as the administrative and clinical lead for the Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Service (SCI) at the Hampton VAMC in Hampton, VA. The physician will have a broad skill set in the diagnosis and treatment of the full spectrum of acute and chronic spinal cord injury and rehabilitation conditions and be able to provide consultative services for these populations. Coverage of direct clinical care for SCI Veterans is a requirement. The physician must have completed residency training in an accredited program and have been granted board certification by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) with subspecialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury
(SCI) Medicine. License to practice medicine in any state of the United States of America is required. The physician should be a nationally recognized leader in SCI education or research, and demonstrate an interest and skill set in the education of residents, fellows, medical students, and allied healthcare trainees.

Administrative Responsibilities Include:

• Is directly accountable to the Medical Center Management Team for day- to-day administrative activities of the service, and accountable to the Chief of Staff for clinical program activities and overall compliance with VISN wide policies and procedures.
• Links clinical improvements to operation efficiency for the service. The intensity, activity, and broad program mission generates numerous, complex problems which require the Service Chief to have outstanding skills and ability in planning, organizing, directing, and controlling all programs which effect a positive impact on the interdisciplinary service, the interdisciplinary professional and the heath care delivery system.
• Formulates long and short-range goals and objectives, plans, and programs for the service. In formulating such plans, coordinates with the Chief of Staff and facility management to integrate the Medical Center and VISN objectives.
• Collaborates with executive leadership, managerial and clinical leaders in formulating local Medical Center Policy, resource planning for human resources, equipment, and space.
• Involves union leadership in pre-decision formulation of policies and organizational changes that affect the service members.
• Monitors measured outcomes and works collaboratively with Medical Center Management to meet mutual program goals.
• Identifies long and short-range needs to formulate proposals for executive level management consideration.

Clinical Responsibilities Include:

• Provides a full range of PMR-specific evaluations to diagnosis and treat the general SCI population.
• Provides consultation to professional staff within VAPSHCS and community providers concerning clinical assessment findings and appropriate treatment plans.
• Functions independently as a member of the VAPSHCS medical staff, with full clinical privileges.
• Provides education to Veterans, family members and significant others.
• Maintains certification and licensure in the medical specialty.
• Serves as a clinical leader in emergencies.
• Provides care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for health problems and promotes health lifestyles.
• Demonstrates knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and technological sciences, and their application in SCI medicine.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM

This is an Open Continuous Announcement. Qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager on a biweekly basis. You will receive an email notification if/when your application has been reviewed and referred. The announcement will close once a selection has been made.

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:

• Prior VA experience in Primary Care is preferred.
• Prior supervisory experience is preferred.

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

Physical Requirements:
The incumbent needs to be mobile in that the job requires: sitting, walking, standing, and bending. Selected applicant will be required to complete an online on-boarding process. The job is primarily sedentary, and requires sitting, walking, standing, and bending. Incumbent is required to respond with time- sensitive reports while balancing multiple competing demands. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office and/or home space.

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.