Physician, Chief of 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.

The Chief of Medical Service provides administrative, programmatic, and clinical leadership for Medical Service to ensure achievement of the clinical, research, and education goals. The incumbent is a board-certified physician with advanced clinical experience as well as demonstrated administrative and leadership skills. As a leader in the department of Medicine, the Chief, Medicine Service is responsible for the overall operation of the Medicine Service, whose mission is to provide a continuum of quality care to our Veterans in the area Medicine.

The Chief, Medicine Service will be responsible for the following tasks (not fully inclusive):

• Assumes responsibility for the overall management of the Medicine Service. This includes the organization of the administrative day-to-day activities of the Medicine department.
• Provides leadership and accountability for all aspects of the service, assuring support of the mission and values of this health care system and VISN 7.
• Assumes responsibility for carrying out the goals, objectives, and plans and policies established by the Health Care System Director.
• Ensures the service functions as an integrated care delivery system, providing a full continuum of patient-focused Medicine Services for Veterans.
• The provider will keep abreast of the recent advances in respective specialty techniques and technological innovations as they become available. The provider will apply these techniques and innovations within the framework of the Veterans Administration's guidelines, directives, goals and mission.
• The provider is to follow standards of clinical competence and conduct, to maintain standards through compliance with credentialing and privileging, clinical practice, and performance, and comply with other quality improvement activities.
• Provide quality clinical care and services regarding customer satisfaction, compliance with Joint Commission regulations and other relevant accrediting agencies as indicated and ensure efficiency of service delivery.
• Maintains positive communication with stake holders-for example: Veteran patients, employees, community groups, private health care providers, affiliated institutions, Veterans Service Organizations, VHA headquarters officials, and Congressional liaisons. Represent the executive body of the Leadership Board of the Health Care System on education and affiliation issues at community events.
• Advises and coordinates activities, resolving controversial issues related to program operations and influencing top management decisions on educational program activities. Maintain amicable and open relations, to respond to specific inquires and to foster an atmosphere of cooperation and open communication with entities having an interest in the activities of the VA. Require skill in negotiating and persuasion and the ability to communicate diplomatically.

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): not authorized
Appraised Value Offer (AVO): not authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact information will be provided for 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: Full-time, 8am-430pm EST. May vary based on the needs of the agency. This schedule may adjust based on the needs of the service and will be discussed with you if this is needed.

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.

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

Physical Requirements:
Moderate lifting (under 15-44lbs); Moderate carrying (Under 15-44lbs); Straight pulling (1 hour); Reaching over shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (approx. 5 hours); Standing (approx. 4 hours.); Kneeling (approx. 1 hour); Repeated bending (approx. 4 hours); Both legs required; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; Mental/Emotional Stability.

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.