Physician (Radiology-Diagnostic)

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.

This is an open continuous announcement. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. Applications will remain on file until 9/30/2027.

• Provide expertise and support in various facets of diagnostic, therapeutic, and therapy-monitoring nuclear medicine and patient care.
• Review exam requests for appropriateness.
• Prescribe exam protocols and modify as needed for specific clinical indications.
• Provide clinical oversight of medication administration, including contrast, preps, and other medications relevant to performance of medical imaging.
• Provide oversight of clinical radiation safety and serve as resource to the Radiation Safety Office (RSO).
• Provide oversight of technical image quality with feedback to technologists.
• Provide oversight and serve as resource for infection control practices.
• Participate in various aspects of quality assurance such as peer review, protocol review, appropriateness criteria, and performance improvement.
• Interpret imaging exams, including comparison with relevant exams and correlation with clinical information in Computerized Patient Records System (CPRS). Generate reports that contain pertinent findings and measurements; descriptions of normal and abnormal structures and physiologies; and discussion of differential diagnoses, recommendations, and impressions.
• Support patient care services with reports timely to the care being delivered using a method of communication appropriate to the level of clinical importance or acuity.
• Consult providers on various aspects of imaging such as exam selection, review of results, and other support functions.
• Participate in clinical conferences, particularly those that medically engage nuclear medicine significantly, such as Tumor Board and Cardiology Conference.
• Participate in call duties.
• Provide high quality, literature-based, unsealed-source therapy.
• Work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams to optimize patient care.
• Facilitate dosimetry of appropriate therapy patients.
• Interact with patients to obtain relevant clinical history and physical exam findings within the scope of practice in Nuclear Medicine; provide patients education and support; obtain informed consents; issue disclosures when appropriate; document activities appropriately in CPRS; enter orders in CPRS; and perform appropriately other relevant aspects of physician practice.
• Integrate resources to provide current, optimal care. Consult colleagues, research literature, and other sources of current practice. Pursue and complete continuing education requirements.
• Participate in Imaging and general medical staff meetings, committee assignments, compliance requirements, and other components of an organized medical staff.
• Assist Nuclear Medicine administration in execution of ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects to monitor the effectiveness of the clinical program.
• Assist with team coordination (e.g., leave calendars, consult rotation, call rotation).
• Provide supervisor regular updates on team progress, functioning, and challenges.
• Develop, with Nuclear Medicine administration, timelines for completion of team tasks.
• Support academic-affiliate programs in training of technologists, radiologic assistants, medical students, residents, fellows, physician assistants, and other trainees in educational programs that involve imaging and/or other relevant medical knowledge.
• Guide clinical experiences, cognitive development, and other aspects of learning for staff and trainees.
• Research is encouraged by the VA and supported as feasible to allow the opportunity for study design, data collection, analysis, publication, and other aspects of research.

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

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

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: 7am to 5pm, four days per week.
Telework: Ad-hoc, as determined by the agency policy.

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: Experience in Nuclear Medicine. Subspecialty experience in PET/CT, Theranostics, and Nuclear Cardiac Imaging.

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

Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

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.