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.

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be eligible for highly-qualified applicants.
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact robert.knudsen@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

Major Duties/Responsibilities for this position include but are not limited to: The Chief of Medicine Service provides executive leadership, clinical oversight, and administrative management for all inpatient and outpatient specialty care within the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. This role is responsible for ensuring high-quality, patient-centered care; setting and achieving operational goals; overseeing service-wide performance improvement, quality measures, and access standards; and managing a diverse team of physicians and staff across multiple subspecialties. The Chief of Medicine directs clinical operations, ensures regulatory and accreditation compliance, stewards budget and resource utilization, and collaborates closely with facility leadership to advance strategic priorities and optimize care delivery for Veterans.

Core Duties:

• Provides executive clinical leadership for all Medicine Service programs, ensuring safe, effective, high-quality inpatient and outpatient specialty care aligned with VHA standards.
• Oversees day-to-day operations of Medicine Service, including workload management, patient flow, service efficiency, and resource allocation across all subspecialty sections.
• Supervises and evaluates physicians and clinical staff, ensuring appropriate credentialing, privileging, performance management, and adherence to policy and professional standards.
• Ensures compliance with regulatory, accreditation, and VA policy requirements, maintaining continuous readiness and high-quality clinical performance.
• Directs quality, safety, and performance-improvement initiatives, including monitoring clinical outcomes and implementing evidence-based practices.
• Leads service-level strategic planning, aligning Medicine Service goals with facility and VISN priorities, and identifies opportunities for service expansion and modernization.
• Manages emergency and continuity operations, including COOP planning, staff preparedness, and operational capability during facility disruptions.
• Oversees recruitment and retention of physicians and advanced practice providers and participates in hiring for key Medicine Service positions.
• Collaborates with academic affiliates, supporting training programs for residents, trainees, and other employees, resident education, and faculty engagement.
• Coordinates interdisciplinary care by partnering with Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, Surgery, and other departments to ensure cohesive, Veteran-centered care.
• Advises executive leadership on clinical operations, staffing needs, resource priorities, and Medicine Service performance.

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

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.

Additional Requirement:

• Board-eligible or board-certified in the area of specialty. Specialty must be either Internal Medicine, Medicine subspecialty, or Neurology.

Preferred Experience:

• Previous supervisory or leadership experience.

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:

• Light lifting, under 15 pounds
• Light carrying, under 15 pounds
• Reaching above shoulder
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Walking (8 hours)
• Standing (8 hours)
• Repeated bending (1 hour)
• Hearing (aid may be permitted)

Environmental Factors:

• Working alone
• 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.