Physician (Home Based Primary Care Medical Director)

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: The VA Portland Health Care System is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care in outpatient, inpatient, residential, and community settings.

VAPORHCS is a multi-site medical system that includes a major medical facility in Portland, Oregon, outpatient and residential facilities in Vancouver, Washington, and 10 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics. VA Portland Health Care System is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care in outpatient, inpatient, residential, and community settings. VAPORHCS is a multi-site medical system that includes a major medical facility in Portland, Oregon, outpatient and residential facilities in Vancouver, Washington, and 10 Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

Vancouver, Washington sits on the north bank of the Columbia River across from Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Coast is less than 90 miles to the west. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mt. Hood are less than two hours away!

The Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) Medical Director position encompasses administrative and clinical duties in Home Based Primary Care. The HBPC program is a long-term care program which provides longitudinal, comprehensive, interdisciplinary primary care services in the home for Veterans with complex, chronic and disabling diseases.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Participates in development, maintenance and implementation of HBPC performance plans and continuous performance improvement activities in collaboration with the HBPC Program Director
• Supervises HBPC Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Clinical Pharmacy Specialists as directed
• Directs education and research programs relevant to HBPC
• Provides clinical input and oversight for all Patient Treatment Plans unless delegated to an HBPC team physician
• Develops collaborative partnerships with institutional stakeholders, including Primary Care, Pharmacy, Nutrition and Food Services, and Social Work
• Collaborates closely with Rehabilitation and Long Care Division leadership to ensure institutional goals are achieved
• Monitors and reports on HBPC program performance metrics, including patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, staff productivity, visit completion metrics in accordance with local and national VA standards
• Periodic sits visits to oversee program operations at locations in Washington and Oregon where VA Portland Health Care System hosts the HBPC program. This may require day and overnight travel away from your primary work station
• Drives a government car to patient visits and/or site visits as needed.
• Maintains an HBPC patient panel, including all aspects of direct and indirect patient care proportionate to clinically mapped FTE and other clinical duties. Visits will be conducted and require entry into patients' homes
• Participates in nighttime and weekend call rotation in the Community Living Center
• Other duties as directed or assigned

*Will require Board Certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in the specialty/sub-specialty indicated in the announcement

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

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

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM PST, varying hours

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:
Current licensed MD/DO provider with 5 years of experience in the provision of Home-Based Primary Care services or Primary Care services with preference for candidates' board-certified in internal medicine, family medicine, and/or geriatric medicine.

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.