Physician - Geriatrician

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.

Geriatrics and Extended Care Service is seeking a physician to serve as an outpatient Geriatric Primary Care clinic provider. We are seeking a candidate who is fellowship trained and board eligible/board certified in Geriatric Medicine to join a high functioning, cohesive team of professionals at The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) . All outpatient Geriatric Primary Care services are on site at the same medical center with minimal at-home call.

This is an Open Continuous Announcement and may be extended beyond the current closing date until the position is filled. Eligible applications will be referred at regular intervals, as additional vacancies occur and/or on an as-needed basis during the duration of the announcement. Once a selection is made and offer is accepted the announcement may close pending no additional vacancies.

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

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact lashala.goodman@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

The Geriatric physician should be a visionary leader striving to sustain the high-quality programs that currently prevail, provide excellent clinical care and heighten academic activity. The physician will work closely with organizational peers and leaders to develop and execute novel and integrative care for geriatric programs, providing both quality and cost-effective care. The initial focus of the program will be to sustain and progress current clinical programs providing comprehensive physician oversight and collaboration with Nurse Practitioners and other healthcare partners.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Manages complex medical conditions, co-morbid mental illnesses, pain management issues, and a variety of psychosocial conditions with active collaboration with the multi-disciplinary teams.
• Communicates and consults regularly with provider partners in primary and specialty care to assist in the care of geriatric patients as needed.
• Manages multiple diagnoses while considering socio-economic conditions of Veterans and the availability of individual support systems.
• Fulfills the general medical needs as well as full range of Geriatric Medicine syndromes in a diverse population of Veterans.
• Facilitates academic activities to supervise/teach (didactics) geriatrics fellows, medical residents, nurse practitioners, and trainees in other health-related disciplines.
• Responsible for management and oversight of Veterans paneled in the Geriatric Clinic.
• Directs clinical care for older patients with multiple complex health problems in outpatient settings.
• Collaborates with the Associate Chief of Staff, Deputy Associate Chief of Staff, and Directors of the Geriatric Clinic and Community Living Center to maintain quality assurance activities. Also, collaborates with other health care disciplines, especially nursing, social work, psychologists, pharmacists, etc.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30a.m. - 4:00p.m. and On-Call (telephone back up rotations).

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: Geriatrics or Palliative Care fellowship training and/or extensive experience. Experience treating aging population to include treatment of geriatric syndromes.

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

Physical Requirements:

• Light lifting, under 15 pounds
• Light carrying, under 15 pounds
• Reaching above shoulder
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Walking ( 2 hours)
• 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
• Hearing (aid may be permitted)
• Mental/Emotional stability

Environmental Factors:

• Outside and inside
• Working closely with others
• Protracted or irregular hours of work

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.