Physician (Cardiologist)

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.

Portland is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated in the northwestern area of the state at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Portland is known for having the amenities of a major city (such as an international airport, an efficient public transit system, major league sports teams and many museums and art galleries) and the charms of a small city (such as plentiful arts and crafts fairs, independent bookstores and local traditions like the annual Rose Festival Parade). Rain or shine, you can take advantage of the city's proximity to nature by playing in the Willamette River, wandering through lush public parks and gardens, biking the city's 162 miles (261 km) of bike lanes and hiking trails both within city limits and in the nearby Columbia River Gorge.
Portland VA Medical Center provides primary care and specialty health services, including mental health services, surgical services, medical specialties, rehabilitation care and more. Below, you'll find our address, hours of operation, parking and transportation information, and the other health services we offer at VA Portland Health Care System.

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

Recruitment/or Relocation Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V20CompensationTeam@va.gov and VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov 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

Duties include but not limited to:

• Continuity outpatient clinics.
• Precepting residents and fellows in clinic.
• Inpatient cardiology consult service attending.
• Inpatient CCU attending.
• Interpretation of echocardiograms, stress echocardiograms and performance of Transesophageal echocardiography.
• Completion of cardiology E-consults.
• Telemedicine.
• Indirect patient care: returning telephone calls, responding to patient emails, reviewing and renewing prescriptions, reviewing laboratory and imaging data, communicating results to patients, and implementing improved quality in systems delivery.
• Overnight and on-call duties for urgent cardiovascular conditions treated in the hospital.
• Additional leadership roles available:
  i. Medical Director, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging - As Director, you will help grow and shape:
  1. Nuclear Cardiology imaging (with radiology): PET myocardial perfusion (sarcoid, CA, viability study)
  2. Cardiac MRI program: brand new 1.5 T Siemens scanner
  3. Cardiac CT services: CCTA, LAA occlusion, TAVR etc.
  4. Imaging curriculum and fellow education
  ii. Medical Director, Echocardiography Laboratory - As Medical Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory, you will:
  1. Provide leadership and oversight for a full-spectrum echo service, including transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal (TEE) echocardiography, stress echocardiography, and structural imaging for TAVR and left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion procedures
  2. Develop and update clinical and research scanning protocols
  3. Lead quality improvement activities for the laboratory
  4. Direct education for sonographers and cardiology fellows
  5. Serve on regional (local echo society) and national (American Society of Echo) committees

Work Schedule: 8 or 10 hour shifts between Monday-Friday 6:00am-6:00pm

Additional Requirements: Prior faculty experience, additional training or strong interest in advanced cardiovascular imaging (echo, CMR and/or cardiac CT), National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) certification, COCATS Level III training in echocardiography

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.

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

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.