Optometrist (Chief of Optometry)

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

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This positions is a full-time Director of Optometry, assigned to the Acute Care and Specialties Service Line located at the Central Alabama VA Medical Center. This position may be resided at either of our main campuses located in Montgomery, AL and Tuskegee, AL or at outlying CBOCs located at Fort Benning, AL, Columbus, GA, and Fort Rucker, AL. The primary purpose of this position is to provide supervision over Optometry staff and services to include administrative and management functions.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Relocation Incentive: 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

Function or Scope of Assigned Duties:

- Full program responsibility for the Optometry service and provide supervision to subordinates.
- Performs other directly related duties as assigned, including management of community care referrals as needed.
- Provides clinical supervision to student interns when applicable.
- Eye examinations in regularly scheduled clinics provide diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic eye care to patients of all ages, taking into consideration age-related and cultural differences of the various veteran populations served.
- Address Visual functions to include reduced visual acuity, impaired contrast sensitivity function, impaired central and/or peripheral vision, eye movement dysfunction, loss of depth perception and combinations of these.
- Consistently communicates and treats customers (Veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
- Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures.
- Participate actively in performance improvement and attend assigned meetings or process action teams. Work collaboratively with other specialties.
- Follow VA directives and polices and maintains current in BLS.
- Possess computer skills to access and input typed data on each patient into the computerized patient record system (CPRS).
- Provides direct clinical supervision of health technicians and other staff as appropriate.
- Supports the TECS (Technology-based Eye Care Services) program.
- Establishes professional working relationships with other clinical service providers within the medical center and outlying clinics, provide telephone and e-consult consultations as needed.
- Cooperate with and participate in medical duties or functions related to quality of care, peer review and with other performance improvement activities as directed.
- Provides prescribed medical treatment and personal care services to veterans in need of Optometry services.
- Documents observations, assessments, and changes in patient's condition; collaborating with health team members to facilitate positive patient care outcomes.
- Attend mandatory training, such as VA Voices, Own the Moment, comply with CME requirements in the specialty of Optometry, and must complete the required TMS courses timely.
- Must be aware and compliant of VA SAIL metrics and VA Performance Measures.


Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

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 Optometry resulting from a course of education in optometry. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools or colleges approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are United States and Canadian schools or colleges of optometry listed as accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), in the list published for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Optometrists must possess a current, full and unrestricted license to practice optometry, and maintain a current registration in a state, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia that requires successful passage of all parts of National Board of Examiners in Optometry intended for basic licensure. The Optometrist must maintain current registration in the state of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active, current licensure.
• Residency Training: Optometrists must have successfully completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of VA in an accredited post-graduate training program, or have comparable experience, as described below: (1) Approved residencies are those with accredited or within pre-accredited status by the ACOE, in the list published for the year the residency was completed. OR
• (2) Two years of licensed clinical optometric practice in the United States consisting of active involvement in the management of medically complex patients. NOTE: The Approving Official may approve, under unusual circumstances, a waiver of residency or comparable experience.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience: Post-graduate residency program preferred with ability to treat glaucoma and common ocular conditions/diseases and Supervisory experience.

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

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing; clear, distinctive speech; and manual dexterity. The position requires potentially long periods of continued sitting, telephone and computer usage, walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring equipment/objects may be required.