Physician - Pain & Addiction Provider

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 G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center is a Joint Commission accredited facility serving Veterans in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. The VA Medical Center is located in Jackson, Mississippi. Steeped in southern culture, Jackson is home to a multitude of world-class painters, sculptors, dancers, actors, architects, photographers, filmmakers, musicians, and artisans of many disciplines. The city pulses with music from classical to inspirational, home-grown gospel, blues, jazz, rock 'n roll, R&B and more that can be found all around town. Beautifully changing seasons offer numerous fall and holiday events rich with tradition, surprising spring flings for shaking off winter's chill, and laid back summer celebrations that detour off the fast lane.

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

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact ronda.eady@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

Duties Summary: The Pain and Addiction Provider primarily functions to provide pain services as well as integrated access to treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) to Veterans as a member of the Facility Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Pain Management Team (i.e., PMT). Other duties will involve advocating, developing, guiding, and monitoring the performance of addiction-related care in pain clinics, providing medication management for pain conditions and/or substance use disorders, and supporting patient care in PMRS when assigned (for example, to cover Pain clinic providers who are on leave).

• Performs initial histories and physical examination on outpatients using TeleHealth and/or face-to-face visits.
• Treats patients with chronic pain and provides ongoing pain care for assigned patients, utilizing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological modalities.
• Provides evidence-based approach to medication management for Veterans with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).
• Provides education and counseling of patients and families in pain self-management, active treatment modalities, and use of prescribed treatments and medications.
• Order and interpretation of diagnostic studies such as laboratory tests, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs).
• Performs pain management comprehensive assessments and develops treatment plans for complex acute and chronic pain patients.
• Develops therapeutic care plans that are intended to achieve defined outcomes that improve the patient's quality of life.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday

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 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.

Preferred Experience:

• Board Eligible or Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology or American Board of Anesthesiology with specialty or subspecialty boarding in Pain Medicine.
• Expertise or experience treating patients with opioid use disorder including experience prescribing buprenorphine.
• Experience performing interventional pain procedures.

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

Physical Requirements: Placement in this position is subject to meeting the physical requirements of this position. Pre-placement medical examination is required:

Functional Requirements:

• Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds
• Light carrying, under 15 pounds
• Reaching above shoulder
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously

Environmental Factors:

• Working closely with others

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.
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.

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.