Physician - Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist

We are looking for 2 skilled Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists with fellowship training in cardiothoracic anesthesiology and expertise in transesophageal echocardiography to Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia. We are seeking a highly motivated Board Certified Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist, with a full and unrestricted medical license from any state or territory, who shares our commitment to providing excellent care to our US Veterans.

The Central Virginia VA Health Care System is a level 1a 349-bed facility offering primary, secondary, and tertiary health care in medicine, surgery, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, intensive care, intermediate care, precision oncology, acute and sustaining spinal cord injury, polytrauma care, skilled nursing home care, and palliative care. The medical center has a strong affiliation with the Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine and shares residency positions in anesthesiology. Our program includes student nurse anesthetists as well.

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

Retention Incentive: This position is eligible for $80,000 per year retention incentive after 90 days of employment and a satisfactory performance review.

The duties and responsibilities of the Cardiac Anesthesia Physician include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provides a full range of services including assessment and using the most appropriate techniques in providing quality care to our veteran patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures.
• Perform a variety of procedures including arterial puncture, EKG interpretation, venipuncture, nasogastric tube insertion, TEE probe insertion and interpretation, intra-arterial line and central venous line placement, Swan-Ganz catheter insertion, bronchoscopy for placement of double lumen endotracheal tubes and use of other advanced monitoring strategies.
• Responsible for providing the patient or the patient's representative with an explanation of risks, benefits and alternative treatments of the anesthetic, giving the patient an opportunity to ask questions, and obtaining informed consent of the patient before performing an anesthetic or invasive procedure.
• Evaluates the patient to assess the health status, physical exam, lab values, and vital signs of the patient prior to surgery and uses this information to determine optimization needs.
• Additional workup will be communicated prior to surgery.
• Appropriate notes will be written, timed, dated, and signed in the patient's medical record.
• Provides preoperative inpatient and outpatient consultations and Operating Room evaluations.
• Skilled in all aspects of perioperative anesthetic care utilizing MAC, regional and general anesthesia techniques on ASA class 1 through 6 patients, and will be proficient in peripheral, arterial, and central venous peripheral access.
• Procedures and perform them at or above national statistical levels.
• Responsible for the post-operative care of the surgical patient in the PACU setting including ventilator management, hemodynamic support, and pain management.
• Duties include on-call coverage as requested by the Chief of Anesthesiology, and the Anesthesiologist is expected to provide appropriate airway management to critically ill patients throughout the hospital.

Work Schedule: Variable work schedule

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:

• Fellowship trained in Cardiac Anesthesiology.

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

Physical Requirements:
The physical requirements of the employee will be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The position requires visual acuity (corrective lenses permitted), keen hearing (hearing aid permitted), clear speech, and manual dexterity of both hands. The position requires potentially long periods of continuous walking, standing, pushing, pulling, stooping, bending, and twisting. Transferring Veterans and objects may be required. The employee may need to lift or carry up to 35lbs intermittently with assistive devices as needed and reach above the shoulders with both hands.

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.