Physician -Assistant Service Chief of Neurology

The Neurology Service is seeking an Assistant Service Chief to support the leadership, management, and strategic direction of a rapidly growing and highly complex clinical service. This position plays a critical role in overseeing Neurology operations, supporting Centers of Excellence (CoE), and ensuring timely access to high-quality neurological care for Veterans.

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

Scope of Practice - Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Assumes full Service Chief responsibilities in the absence of the Service Chief, ensuring uninterrupted and compliant operational leadership.
• Provides direct support in managing the complex Neurology Service, including consult coordination, clinic operations, staffing, performance improvement, and interdisciplinary team oversight.
• Supports and oversees Neurology Centers of Excellence (CoE) in Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Pain, and Headache, ensuring program effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and alignment with VHA directives.
• Provides mentorship and leadership development for a promising internal candidate as part of structured succession planning.
• Performs clinical duties that may include leading the General Neurology Section, managing the complex inpatient and outpatient consult service, and/or directing another subspecialty section depending on expertise.
• Improves access to specialty care and reduces wait times by evaluating Veterans with diagnoses aligned to clinical subspecialty expertise.
• Participates in strategic planning, clinical program development, workload distribution, quality improvement, patient safety initiatives, and operational decision-making.
• Ensures compliance with Joint Commission standards and all VHA policies related to quality, patient safety, peer review, credentialing and privileging, and clinical practice guidelines.
• Supports High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles through proactive leadership engagement, process improvement, and system optimization.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN5HREDRPCoordinators@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

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm

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:

• Prior formal or informal administrative experience in a neurology service, including, supervising staff, leading multidisciplinary teams, overseeing clinical operations such as staff scheduling, workload management, recruiting, credentialing and optimizing clinical productivity.
• Experience in collaboration with academic partners, especially within a university-affiliated environment.
• Experience in graduate medical education, including teaching and mentoring residents, medical students, and fellows.
• Broad-based clinical competence across major neurologic subspecialties.
• Experience directing, overseeing or involvement in an inpatient neurology service.
• Involvement in scholarly activities, research initiatives, with a record of peer-reviewed publications or presentations.
• Proven commitment to quality improvement, patient safety, peer review, and implementation of evidence-based clinical protocols.
• Demonstrated ability to deputize/act in place of a Chief (coverage during absences, shared decision-making authority).
• Proficiency with electronic health record systems and willingness to champion technology-driven improvements.
• Experience serving on hospital/facility committees.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with veterans and an understanding of the health needs and priorities of the veteran population.
• Experience working at VA or other federal healthcare settings. Familiarity with VA policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements is highly desirable.

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.