Physician Assistant (General Surgery)

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications and subsequent cut-off dates are on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates.
Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): Not Authorized
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.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

The Physician Assistant (PA) will work closely with their respective team and assist in the management of patients. They will be responsible for providing and coordinating care for assigned patients including assessments, ordering appropriate laboratory and diagnostic studies, consulting and referring to physicians and other health care members as appropriate. The PA must also be able to perform independent direct patient care, including but not limited to history-taking, physical exams, and progress notes for orthopedic patients. PA's practice with clinical oversight, consultation, and input by a designated collaborating physician. Although PA's are not Licensed Independent Practitioners, they are authorized to practice with defined levels of autonomy and exercise independent medical decision making within their scope of practice. The General Surgery Physician Assistant will practice medicine as a member of a team with their Supervising Surgeon.

Major Duties/Responsibilities for this position include but are not limited to:

1. Obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations.
2. Providing and coordinating medical care for assigned patients in any care setting, including establishing diagnoses, formulating, and implementing care plans, and providing follow-up care.
3. Evaluating outpatients to determine the need for further health care.
4. Ordering diagnostic studies and other special tests, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, etc.
5. Carrying out health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education activities.
6. Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens.
7. Ordering ancillary services, such as, pharmacy, social services, physical medicine and rehabilitation therapies, prosthetic services, etc.
8. Ordering VA specialty service consults and initiating requests for non-VA medical care and consults in accordance with VHA and local facility policy and procedures.
9. Ordering patient care supplies.
10. Writing orders for or prescribing medications (see paragraph c. of this App)
11. Admitting and discharging patients in consultation with, and on behalf of, the collaborating physician, obtaining admission history.
12. Performing physical examinations, conducting patient rounds, documenting progress notes and summaries in the patient record, and writing patient orders on assigned patients.
13. Obtaining and documenting informed consent for treatments and procedures for which the PA is responsible.
14. Providing education and counseling of patients and families in preventive care, medical conditions, and the use of prescribed treatments and drugs.
15. PAs may prescribe or order all medications listed in the VA National Formulary consistent with the PA's level of prescribing authority and practice setting.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm. Subject to change based on the needs of the agency.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Physician Assistant Basic Requirements

• Citizenship. Citizen of the United States [in accordance with section 7402(c) to title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
• Education. Graduate of a training program which is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) or one of its predecessor organizations. Additionally, candidates must meet one of the following:
  1. Master's degree in any discipline; OR
  2. Bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant.
• Certification. Must have successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE).
• Licensure. Physician Assistants must possess an active, current, full, and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Physician Assistants must maintain current registration in the State of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active and current licensure in that State.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:Physician Assistant-I (PA-I)

• Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for Physician Assistants. AND
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. The following list of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) present the minimum skill set expected of an Entry Level Physician Assistant. This practice may include, but is not limited to:
  1. Ability to utilize the principles of Physician Assistant practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.
  2. Ability to perform patient history and physical.
  3. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.
  4. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.

Physician Assistant-II (PA-II)

• Experience and Education. The Physician Assistant at this grade is at the intermediate grade level and has had progressively increasing responsibility and experiences as indicated in the KSAs listed below. Individuals will have demonstrated the ability to analyze and solve more complex medical problems than at the entry level grade and can utilize their training in the successful practice of patient care and participate in team problem solving. Individuals demonstrate the KSAs of PA-II intermediate level by:
  • Two years of successful practice as a PA. OR
  • Successful completion of a Physician Assistant post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency. OR
  • A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). Physician Assistants at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-II:
  1. Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
  2. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
  3. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
  4. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
  5. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

Physician Assistant-III (PA-III)

• Experience and Education. Physician Assistants at the PA-III grade are at the full performance level and lead and organize patient care independently, practice within multi-disciplinary teams, and coordinate all aspects of patient care across the health care system. They utilize advanced clinical knowledge and judgment in decision-making and evaluating outcomes. They function as experts in clinical practice and/or in areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities, may serve as mentors for transitioning Physician Assistants, and may provide training for health care students. Individuals can demonstrate the KSAs for the full performance level by:
  • Three years of successful practice as a PA. OR
  • Successful completion of a Physician Assistant post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA. OR
  • A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Physician Assistants at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-III:
  1. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
  2. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).
  3. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
  4. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel.
  5. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes.
  6. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the Physician Assistant patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.

Preferred Experience: Experience in General Surgery or surgical subspecialties, operating room experience, first assist, inpatient patient care, emergency patient care, pre and post operative patient care, familiar with patient consultations, medication management, coordination with other services, sound decision making skills, effective communication.


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

Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.