Physician - Orthopedic Surgery

Join a dedicated team within Surgical Care Service at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System in Phoenix, AZ.

Duties:

• Apply a wide range of professional theories, assessment methods and techniques to care for critically ill patients and those with orthopedic surgical problems.
• Performs outpatient and inpatient orthopedic surgery examinations.
• Develop coherent treatment strategies.
• Incorporate new clinical procedures.
• Provide professional advice and consultation in critical care areas related to treatment of orthopedic surgical conditions.
• Effectively supervise and manage professional staff, especially residents and Advanced Practice Providers.
• Assess qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees.
• Diagnose and treat medical and surgical disorders using the most appropriate techniques in providing quality care.
• Responsible for initial evaluation and overall workups, history & physicals, and admission of orthopedic surgery patients as needed. Clinical duties include but are not limited to Operating Room (experience in wide variety of standard orthopedic surgical procedures and operations including arthroscopy), in-patient rounds, Emergency Room and Outpatient Clinics. The orthopedic surgeon will be able to perform a wide variety of orthopedic surgical procedures.
• May also supervise residents from the Phoenix Integrated Surgical Residency Program, Mayo Clinic and other training programs, as well as medical students from University of Arizona, Mayo Clinic and Podiatry students and residents who rotate through the Orthopedic Surgery Service.
• Required to participate in all surgical quality/performance improvement initiatives as appropriate, including VASQIP.
• Participate in orthopedic surgery night call and perform emergency orthopedic surgical procedures.
• Responsible for providing patients with education concerning their disease state and treatment regimen. The orthopedic surgeon will assess Veterans' risks and benefits associated with surgical procedures, and will provide appropriate informed consent so Veterans fully understand the important risks and benefits of surgical intervention.
• Complete all electronic, clinical, daily charting and documentation required by the Medical Center in a timely manner as appropriate, including outcomes reporting as appropriate.
• Consult with Medical Center staff on many patient care issues.
• Strongly enforces a policy of full disclosure. If there is a complication in the course of a patient's care, the general surgeon will discuss the untoward event, including the patient's options for second medical opinion or legal action, and will document these discussions in the chart (CPRS).
• Work effectively with patients and coworkers, and will treat other health care professionals and patients' family with respect and dignity.
• Report administratively and clinically to the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery. In addition, this individual may report to the Chief of Surgery for the program(s) to which she/he is assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

• 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 allopathic 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 accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR
  • (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR
  • (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), 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.
  • Exceptions:
    • 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 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.
    • In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year graduated.

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.