Physician - Chief/Education and Research

The Gulf Coast Veteran Healthcare System (GCVHCS), Chief of Staff (COS) Service has an immediate opening for a full-time Physician - Chief/Education and Research. Functioning as the primary advisor to the Deputy COS and Director on all research and education programs. The GCVHCS encompasses the main campus and four Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a great place to live and work! You'll find picturesque, white-sand beaches lining the Gulf of Mexico, exciting, fun-filled outdoor activities to include boating, fishing and championship golf courses, taste-tantalizing cuisine, plentiful shopping, and must-see cultural attractions. Mississippi's Gulf Coast also features unlimited stakes gaming, top-name entertainment, and spectacular stage shows you won't want to miss. With a unique combination of attractions that will please everyone, Mississippi's Gulf Coast is undoubtedly "the" place to live and work!

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be eligible for highly-qualified applicants.
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 Gulf Coast Veteran Healthcare System (GCVHCS) is recruiting for a permanent Physician, for Chief/Education and Research in Biloxi, MS. This Physician position oversees and is responsible for all areas of education within the GCVHCS, as well as any research activities conducted by VA personnel employed by the Biloxi VAMC, it's outlying clinics or associated with Veteran Affairs.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Provide overall coordination of multi-funded and/or multi-site research projects(s)
• Participate in developing research designs, data collection methods and strategies for data management
• Coordinate multiple data collection efforts which may include other collaborating agencies
• Develop, monitor reports and work with funding agencies
• Collaborate with study personnel in the strategic planning of future external funding grants
• Coordinates and develops request for programs, i.e. for both human and budget resources, space, staffing, equipment and supplies
• Develop program review and evaluation to ensure that the access, quality of care, customer service, patient satisfaction and utilization management, efficiency dimensions of care are continuously evaluated and improved
• Develop administrative procedures and core infrastructure to support the research efforts, to include compliance with VA and other Federal regulations, policies and directives
• Prompt reporting of unanticipated problems involving risks to research participants or others to each of the appropriate agencies Serious Adverse Event(SAE), Unanticipated (Unexpected AE) , and Unanticipated problem involving risks to subjects or others
• Oversee and is responsible for all areas of education program within the Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System
• Provide 30% of time in clinical VA setting with direct patient care
• Responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining service line and program level quality improvement activities focused on successful attainment of VA, VHA, VISN and GCVHCS performance measures and standards

Work Schedule: Tour of duty will be determined by the supervisor

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:

• Three (3) to Five (5) years of Research; Two (2) to Five (5) years of supervisory experience; Three (3) to Eight (8) years of VA Research.
• Five (5) years or more of successful specialty/subspecialty board certified medical practice and two years of progressive leadership positions in medical settings (academic or VA).
• Demonstrates elevated level of professional experience and VA service leadership skills.
• Known interest in, or knowledge of medical education principles and practice, including Graduate Medical Education, Continuing Medical Education, and Undergraduate Medical Education.
• Three years (3) or more of successful teaching of medical residents and students as a Clinical Proctor/Instructor or Assistant/Associate Professor is expected.
• Past history of participating and leading successful clinical research projects.

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

Physical Requirements
Functional requirements:

• Moderate lifting and carrying, (15-44 pounds)
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Walking and standing (2 hours)
• Kneeling and repeated bending (1 hour)
• Both legs required
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously
• Both eyes required
• Depth perception
• Ability to distinguish basic colors
• Ability to distinguish shades of colors
• Hearing (aid may be permitted)

Environmental Factors:

• Working closely with others
• Working alone
• 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.