Physician-Palliative Care

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.

Section Chief, Hospice and Palliative Care Service Western New York VA Health Care System:
The Section Chief oversees all aspects of the Hospice and Palliative Care Service, including staffing, work assignments, care delivery, and service criteria. Responsibilities include:

• Supervising the inpatient palliative care consult service, veterans at end of life , and outpatient palliative care clinic.
• Providing clinical and programmatic leadership, supporting program development, and leading quality improvement initiatives.
• Serving as attending physician for inpatient consults and the veterans at the end of life as needed.
• Supervising trainees and serving as site director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the Jacobs School of Medicine as well as internal medicine residents.
• Collaborating in strategic planning for Geriatrics, Palliative, and Extended Care services.
• Provides direct patient care, functions as inpatient consult attending, and covers hospice and outpatient services as needed. Responsible for admission, diagnosis, and treatment of veterans with serious illness. Supervises residents and fellows.
• Coordinates care within the Hospice and Palliative Care team, supervises physicians and advanced practice providers, manages staffing and performance, addresses patient advocacy concerns, and responds to internal and external inquiries. Works with program coordinators on performance measures and collaborates with local, VISN, and national leadership. Mentors new team members and leads clinical improvement initiatives.
• Plans and conduct educational programs for staff, patients, families, and trainees.
• Coordinates with academic affiliates; serves as site Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship and palliative care elective for medical students. Reports to the Chief of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC). Join our team in providing high quality care for our nation's veterans in a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment.

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

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday (8am - 4:30pm)

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN2EDRPCoordinators@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance

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.
• Board Certification. Physicians are generally not required to be board certified for employment in VA; however, three circumstances in VA require Physician board certification:
  (1) If the position being filled is required to be a supervisor for medical students or Physician residents (including fellows), the LCME, ACGME, or AOA standards requiring a particular board certification credential will apply.
  (2) If the position being filled will have faculty status with an affiliated medical school (for example, in joint recruitments with affiliated medical schools), then a medical school requirement for board certification will apply to the jointly recruited position.
  (3) If the position being filled is required to be board certified by virtue of specific VHA policy (for example, as director of a cardiac catheterization laboratory or Director of Clinical Laboratory Medicine), then VHA policy requiring board certification will apply.
  
• NOTE: Board certification must be maintained for the duration of time that the employee is serving in a position that meets the circumstances listed above.
  
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

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

Physical Requirements: In accordance with VA handbook 5019

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.