Physician (Community Living Center w/Recruitment-Relocation Incentive/EDRP)

The West Texas VA Health Care System, Big Spring, TX is seeking a full-time Physician (Community Living Center) to provide direct patient care in performing clinical functions independently and identifies functions requiring with collaboration with the CLC Medical Director and interdisciplinary teams.

A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized to a highly qualified candidate.

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP).

Note: This position may also be filled by a Nurse Practitioner at https://www.usajobs.gov/job/886645500/preview

The CLC Physician independently performs the following, within the bounds of their credentialing and privileges:

• Conducts history and physical examinations for assigned residents on admission and periodically as required by regulation.
• Performs medical rounds and clinic assessments in accordance with regulatory and facility timelines.
• Diagnoses and manages acute and chronic medical conditions for assigned residents.
• Orders and interprets diagnositic studies (laboratory, imagining, and other testing) relevant to resident care.
• Prescribes, adjusts, and discontinues medication within relevant scope, formulary, and regulatory requirements.
• Responds to changes in resident condition, including telephonic or in-person evaluation, and directors appropriate management.
• Documents all clinical encounters, assessments, and decision-making in the medical record in a timely manner.
• Completes required certifications and recertifications of level of care, as applicable.
• Communicates with residents and, as appropriate and authorized family members or designated decision makers regarding diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
• Participates in advance care planning discussions, including goals of care and end-of-life care preferences.
• Provides order for end-of life- and palliative care in accordance with resident wishes and facility policy.

Collaborative Functions:

The CLC Physician performs the following in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, nursing leadership, or other practitioners.

• Collaborates with Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants managing shared patients, consistent with facility policy governing non-physician practitioners.
• Coordinates with consulting specialists involved in resident care.
• Facility budget authority for medical services.
• Final decision-making authority on facility-wide resource allocation affecting medical care. Orders and interprets labs, tests, and diagnostic studies.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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.
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
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

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:

• 3 years of experience in a Community Living Center, skilled nursing facility, or long-term care setting.
• Experience managing geriatric patients with complex, chronic conditions.
• Experience in end-of-like/palliative care and advance care planning.
• Experience working within an interdisciplinary care team.
• Familiarity with VA clinical systems and level-of-care certification (or equivalent).
• Experience in QAPI, root cause analysis, or case review.

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

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

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.