Podiatrist (General)

The Podiatrist provides comprehensive podiatric medical care to Veterans in an outpatient clinical setting. The incumbent evaluates, diagnoses, treats, and manages diseases, disorders, deformities, injuries, and functional impairments of the foot, ankle, and related structures. Care is provided in accordance with evidence-based practice, VHA standards, established clinical practice guidelines, facility policies, and applicable professional standards.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:
The Podiatrist provides direct clinical care and performs duties that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Examines, evaluates, diagnoses, and treats Veterans with podiatric conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures.
• Provides outpatient podiatry care for general adult podiatric diseases and conditions, including but not limited to diabetic foot complications, peripheral neuropathy, nail disorders, calluses, corns, foot deformities, ulcerations, infections, musculoskeletal complaints, and other podiatric concerns.
• Performs comprehensive foot assessments, including neurovascular assessments, diabetic foot examinations, biomechanical evaluations, skin and nail assessments, wound evaluations, and risk stratification for limb preservation.
• Provides routine and medically necessary foot care in accordance with VHA policy, clinical indications, and established standards of practice.
• Provides care for Veterans at increased risk for amputation, including those with diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, chronic wounds, deformity, prior ulceration, or history of lower extremity complications.
• Performs appropriate podiatric procedures within the scope of licensure and granted clinical privileges, which may include debridement of nails, calluses, hyperkeratotic lesions, ulcers, and nonviable tissue; incision and drainage when appropriate; biopsy; injections; nail avulsions; treatment of ingrown toenails; and other minor podiatric procedures.
• Develops, implements, and modifies patient-centered treatment plans based on clinical assessment, diagnostic findings, patient needs, and evidence-based practice.
• Orders, reviews, and interprets diagnostic studies within the scope of practice, including laboratory testing, imaging, vascular studies, cultures, pathology, and other clinically indicated evaluations.
• Prescribes medications, treatments, orthotics, prosthetic devices, footwear, wound care supplies, durable medical equipment, and other therapeutic interventions in accordance with scope of practice, licensure, privileges, and VA policy.
• Refers patients to other specialists or services when clinically indicated, including but not limited to vascular surgery, wound care, infectious disease, endocrinology, prosthetics, orthotics, rehabilitation, primary care, emergency care, or community care when appropriate.
• Collaborates with interdisciplinary team members to coordinate comprehensive management of high-risk patients and promote limb preservation.
• Manages podiatry outpatient consults, return-to-clinic orders, scheduling needs, and follow-up care in a timely and clinically appropriate manner.
• Completes all medical records, encounter documentation, orders, consult responses, procedure notes, informed consent documentation, and clinical communications in accordance with medical staff bylaws, rules, regulations, VHA requirements, and local facility policy.
• Participates in care coordination for patients requiring transfer to another facility, higher level of care, emergency evaluation, surgical evaluation, or additional specialty services.
• Maintains an unrestricted license to practice podiatry and complies with credentialing, privileging, continuing education, and professional practice requirements.
• Participates in quality improvement, clinical review, patient safety, access improvement, utilization management, and performance improvement activities as requested by the service, facility, VISN, or national program leadership.
• Adheres to applicable data, workload, productivity, consult management, access, and quality metric reporting requirements.
• Attend scheduled meetings, huddles, service line meetings, clinical conferences, training, and other required activities as requested by facility or service leadership.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with hospital departments, administration, clinical staff, support staff, patients, families, caregivers, and external partners as appropriate.
• Supports the mission, vision, and values of the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing safe, timely, effective, equitable, Veteran-centered care.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

Work Schedule: Every Thursday and Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.

Podiatrist Basic Requirements

• Degree as a doctor of podiatric medicine, or its equivalent, from a school of podiatric medicine approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Approved schools are United States schools of podiatric medicine approved by the Council on Podiatry Education of the American Podiatry Association in the year in which the degree was granted. ~AND~
• Completed, or currently completing, residency training, or its equivalent, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. VA Podiatrists 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 Council on Podiatric Medical Education, in the list published for the year the residency was completed, or (2) Other residencies and training experiences, or their equivalents, which the local Professional Standards Board determines to have provided an applicant with appropriate professional training. ~AND~
• Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice Podiatry in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia.

Staff Requirements

• Staff Podiatrist Medical: None beyond basic requirements. The individual must have completed an accredited residency, and/or possess experience to perform general podiatric duties and some specialized functions and procedures, without supervision. Staff podiatrists may also include attending podiatrists who train physician residents, assigned in facilities with residency training programs, and consultants who are capable of giving authoritative views and opinions on subjects in their field of medicine. These podiatrists perform office based procedures only and generally work a set 40-hour per week schedule.

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

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring periods of standing, walking, bending, reaching, sitting, and use of hands for fine motor clinical tasks. The incumbent may be required to assist with patient positioning, perform examinations and procedures, and work in clinical environments where prolonged standing or repetitive hand movements may occur. The position requires visual acuity, manual dexterity, hearing, speech, and cognitive ability sufficient to perform clinical assessments, procedures, documentation, and patient communication. The incumbent must be physically and mentally able to perform the essential functions of the position efficiently, with or without reasonable accommodation, and without hazard to self or others.

Driver's License: No routine driving requirement is anticipated unless otherwise determined by the facility. If travel to another VA clinic, outreach site, or community-based outpatient clinic is assigned, the incumbent must comply with applicable travel, government vehicle, and driver safety requirements, including having a valid MN license.

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/.

• U.S. Citizenship: non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.