Physician - Hospitalist

A position exist for a full-time Hospitalist at the Hines VA Hospital in Hines, IL within the Physical Medicine & Rehab service line.

Position is open until filled, applications will be referred as they are received. Position may be filled before the closing date.

Hospitalist's duties include admission, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment, including consultation, of patients presenting with general medical complaints, diseases, and injuries. Core privileges include the ability to perform a history and physical exam, form a differential diagnosis, orders and interpret labs and other diagnostic tests such as plain films and EKGs, develop and implement treatment plans, order subspecialty consultations and provide appropriate follow-up care.

The Hospitalist will perform administrative tasks as assigned, such as peer reviews, SCI /D registry eligibility, Annual evaluations data monitoring, and ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE). May assist in other administrative duties assigned by service chief like monitoring the EPRP, clinical review reminder data monitoring etc.

Responsible for admissions of the patients as assigned. Interviews and examines patients, reviews past medical history, and requests and/or performs diagnostic tests and examinations deemed necessary to obtain all appropriate information related to each case. Makes preliminary diagnoses, directs, prescribes or provides treatment, or arranges for specialized care or patient referral as required.

• Bases decisions upon information obtained, professional medical knowledge, skills, and prescribed policies and procedures. Makes notes of observations to be incorporated into clinical records. Provides urgent and emergency care as required. Provides definitive management of emergency care cases that do not require referral.
• Refers patients to appropriate consult services, provides full clinical information for care and diagnostic procedures that cannot be adequately provided in the SCI unit . Coordinates and integrates care on the unit, facilitate transferring the patients to ICU settings as needed and assures timely follow-up care is arranged.
• Responds to acute emergency interventions, working closely in consultation with members of other medical departments as deemed appropriate by the clinical problem. Works with allied health professionals, i.e. Community Health Nurses, Social Workers, Health Educators, etc., in the management of the patient's medical, psychological and social problems.
• Serves as an expert in the specialized area and assumes appropriate administrative duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00pm to 7:00am, Saturday & Sunday, 9:00pm to 7:00am, alternating weeks. Employee will need to be physically present on the premises for the entire TOD.

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:

• Previous Hospitalist experience working with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Veterans
• Board Certification in Internal Medicine
• Board Certification in Neurology
• Board Certification in PM&R

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

Physical Requirements: Involves considerable amount of standing, walking, stooping, bending, reaching, lifting and turning. Requires carrying or lifting of objects weighing up to 25 lbs., but occasionally may require work that involves pushing or lifting in excess of 25 lbs. and going up and down flights of stairs.

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.

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

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