Physician (Chief Hospitalist)

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.

The Chief Hospitalist is a clinical leadership position that interfaces with the medical center's administrative leadership and works in close collaboration with other clinical services. The Chief Hospitalist guides acceptable evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, remains current in scientific medical advancements and state of the art medical practices, and provides oversight and mentoring to at least four (4) full-time hospitalists. S/he follows appropriate ethical principles, code of conduct, policies and protocols defined by the organization. This position leads the acute medicine service in the Medicine Directorate of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois. FHCC is larger than just a single facility, but rather a system of facilities throughout Northeastern Illinois which provide medical and dental services to U.S. Military Active Duty, Recruits, Veterans, and eligible beneficiaries.

The Chief Hospitalist has a broad range of authority with the responsibility for setting the direction of the service, direction and supervision of the hospitalist staff, maintaining professional standards, maintaining quality control standards, identifying quality improvement opportunities and participating in provider patient care and consultation. S/he serves as clinical authority for professional, licensed, and certified hospitalist staff. S/he must demonstrate skills in exercising a high degree of initiative, judgment, discretion, and decision-making to achieve organizational objectives including ensuring that high quality care is provided consistently. S/he will be a point of contact for physicians and clinical staff assigned to the unit for clinical and process guidance. This will include, but is not limited to, training, documentation, process workflow and other functionality regarding necessary clinical systems. This individual will work with nurse manager, staff and physicians to optimize the usage of clinical systems through education and training, quality and outcomes, and providing support in accordance with organizational goals. S/he will work closely with hospital staff, department directors, and physicians to ensure that the highest standards of quality and services are maintained. This individual will also work directly with all levels of the organization on projects, committees and teams to meet the overall needs of the unit and the facility.

Major Duties:
-Provide direct care of acute medicine patients and consultative General Medicine care to patients on other services (at least 70% of the time).
-Recruit and hire for all hospitalist positions.
-Staff and schedule of hospitalist services.
-Supervise, manage and execute performance evaluation of hospitalists. Participate in Peer Review, staff counseling, and other quality assurance efforts.
-Work with facility leadership on strategic planning and implementation related to acute medicine.
-Collaborate with nurse manager and other departments to optimize quality of care, efficiency, and inpatient satisfaction.
-Monitor quality of care parameters for inpatient care. Develop and implement inpatient quality improvement projects.
-Monitor SAIL measures and implement corrective action, as needed.
-Improve efficiency and productivity throughout the unit.
-Chair the Patient Flow Committee.
-Teach residents and medical students.
-Implement, manage and participate in education programs for the inpatient unit personnel.
-Update and develop inpatient policies and procedures.

Chief Hospitalist may be assigned to perform other duties by Medicine Directorate leadership or Deputy Chief of Staff. The Chief Hospitalist will have 30% of time for administrative duties, however, administrative time may flex depending on staffing and/or on strategic priorities.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment) Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vha.elrsprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more.
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

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

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 Certified Internal Medicine

Preferred Experience:

• Supervisory experience
• 3-5 years experience working as a Hospitalist
• 3-5 years VA leadership/experience is preferred
• Process improvement

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

Physical Requirements: To perform in a fully successful manner, the individual must have the physical ability to perform job-related duties which may require light carrying (under 15 pounds), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (up to 1 hour), standing (up to 1 hour), and both legs required. In addition, there may be exposure to the following environmental factors: working inside and outside, working closely with others, and protracted or irregular hours of work. A health examination must be successfully completed prior to this assignment and periodically thereafter as required by the Occupational Health Clinic policy. There may be intermittent exposure to blood and body fluids.

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.