Physician (Pathologist)

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) is seeking a full time Physician (Pathologist). The position includes clinical, administrative, and teaching responsibilities (including teaching of pathology residents).

The VA Medical Center located at Tucson Arizona is the "Flagship" for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS), which serves over 170,000 veterans located in eight counties in Southern Arizona and one county in Western New Mexico. This 295-bed hospital provides training, primary care and sub-specialty health care in numerous medical areas for eligible Veterans.


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 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

PATHOLOGIST, TUCSON ARIZONA. The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) invites applicants to apply for a full time Clinical /Anatomical Pathologist (Physician). The candidate must have board certification or eligibility in anatomical & clinical pathology. Applicants with expertise in cytopathology are desired, though this is not a requirement. The position includes clinical, administrative, and teaching responsibilities (including teaching of pathology residents). The combined anatomic and clinical pathologist is able to perform the following services required in the practice of Pathology.

• Application of accepted criteria in formulating and reporting diagnostic information on various anatomic pathology specimens to include surgical pathology and cytopathology.
• Provide clinical laboratory consultation to technical personnel and healthcare providers.
• Participation in Quality Assurance measures for laboratory sections as required by accreditation standards.
• Teaching of residents, medical students, allopathic medicine students and other healthcare personnel who seek training within the field of Pathology.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• The AP/CP pathologist is ultimately responsible for diagnostic interpretation of specimens processed within the laboratory.
• The AP/CP pathologist will provide residents and/or trainees information on specimen processing and evaluation.
• Review of gross specimens
• Processing and interpretation of intraoperative frozen sections.
• Provide intraoperative and intraprocedural consultation as requested.
• Interpretation/sign-out of surgical pathology specimens within CAP guidelines for turnaround time.
• Ordering/interpretation of appropriate immunohistochemical stains and special stains.
• Participation in multi-disciplinary conferences such as Tumor Board, Chest Conference and GI Conference.
• Participate in Quality Assurance measures including 10% retrospective review of all anatomic pathology cases and inter-laboratory comparison programs as designated by Chief, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
• Provide 24 hour on-call services as designated in the monthly schedule.
• Review hematology fluids and issue diagnostic interpretation.
• Participate in required continuing medical education (CME) in order to maintain licensure/privileges.
• Responsible for timely completion of VA assigned LMS educational modules.
• Responsible for diagnostic expertise and sign-out in any area for which sub-specialty fellowship training has been completed.

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: Cytopathology fellowship trained preferred but not required.

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

Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5019/1, Part II, Pre-Placement Physical Examinations and Evaluations

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.