ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON (JOINT REPLACEMENT)

This is an open continuous announcement until March, 16 2027. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): : Approved
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
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
The Education Dept Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program, is authorized for certain locations to include Philadelphia, PA. The selectee must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit an EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program approval, award amount (up to $200,000), and 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 are ineligible to apply.

The Orthopedic surgeon is responsible for managing the full spectrum of surgical care responsibilities including admission from an outpatient site, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment, consultation for patients presenting with orthopedic complaints and diseases and the performance of invasive and surgical procedures. To manage the surgical care patients the following will be necessary: ordering appropriate lab work, ordering appropriate diagnostic tests, requesting consultations to specialty services, providing both office based and operating room based invasive procedures.

All work activities, both administrative in nature and clinical, will be in conformance with VA, Joint Commission, and other standards as applicable that guide that provider's practice. The physician will work in a team setting with other physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and support staff assigned to perform duties to accomplish the treatment of veteran patients. Computer skills are essential as the Philadelphia VA Medical Center is fully computerized for note documentation, entering orders and requesting consults. Performs the following tasks during the clinic visit, operating room and post surgical inpatient care:

- Performs comprehensive and problem-focused histories and physical examinations- Interprets laboratory and diagnostic tests
- Interprets and correlates subjective and objective data to formulate a differential diagnosis and establish a working diagnosis
- Formulates a treatment plan for orthopedic conditions
- Implements therapeutic intervention for specific conditions when appropriate
- Exercises judgment on conditions requiring consultation, referral or evaluation.
- Orders, collects and performs appropriate laboratory and diagnostic studies, such as routine laboratory tests, EMG, electrocardiogram and radiologic examinations including arthrogram, ultrasound, CT, MRI and bone scan studies
- Performs compartment pressure measurements, digital blocks and regional anesthesia
- Performs minor outpatient surgical procedures such as tendon repair, wound closure and management, incision and drainage, needle biopsy percutaneous pinning of fractures k-wire and hardware removal
- Performs diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as aspirations and injections of joints, bursars and cysts.
- Performs closed reductions of fractures and dislocations, deep and superficial wound closure, application of internal devices. - Applies braces, casts, splints and other orthopedic appliances - Conducts hospital rounds, writes orders, takes call and sees patients in the ED.
- Evaluates and clarifies clinical conditions
- Formulates and implements treatment and therapeutic plans for hospitalized patients.
- Maintains a close working relationship with the Primary Care Team and coordinates care with that team and other medical specialists such as rheumatology.
- Completes patient referrals in CPRS - Manages patient's medication (including medicine reconciliation)
- Completes view alerts - Follows-up on patient-related information (test and procedure results, consults and medications)

Work Schedule: To Be Determined

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:
-Completion of Joint fellowship program
-Robotic Use

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

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.