Physician Assistant - Primary Care - EDRP Authorized

About the role

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.

Responsibilities

• The PA practices general medicine with a focus on community-based outpatient clinical care.
• Approximately 90% of the PA's time is dedicated to developing and maintaining an interdisciplinary approach to the direct care of general medicine clinic patients.
• The PA independently follows his own panel of general medicine patients, functioning as their primary care provider. This primary care/gatekeeper's role is incumbent with a high degree of responsibility and independence.
• The location of the CBOC away from the Medical Center means that the PA's assessment skills and breadth of knowledge must be superior. In addition, the employee must be a highly effective communicator to negotiate with consultants at the Fargo VA HCS regarding the triaging of patients he refers to. Provider will be required to be a designated women's provider and complete the mandatory VHA training.
• Providers may be required to travel to the CBOC's or provide gap coverage as determined by the supervisor.
• All providers will meet the work relative value unit (RVU's) as determined by the national office for primary care providers.
• Typical work hours are Monday to Friday 8-4:30 PM. Alternative work hours, if desired, should be agreed upon at the time of joining. Each full-time provider is required to work a minimum of 80 hrs. per pay period (every two weeks) unless on leave status.
• Providers will need to act as surrogates for the patients of their colleagues, when one or more of their colleagues are on leave.
• Alternative or collateral duties may include management of a subsection of primary care patients, the subsection may be defined either by a disease status (e.g. spinal cord injury patients), or demographic status (women veterans, OIF/OEF veterans, employees etc.).

Requirements

• Physician Assistant Basic Requirements: Master's degree in any discipline or a bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant ~AND~ Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam) ~AND~ Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia.

Qualifications

• Physician Assistant-I: None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs.
• Physician Assistant-II (PA-II): Two years of successful practice as a PA. OR Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency. OR A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Physician Assistant-III (PA-III): Three years of successful practice as a PA. OR Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA. OR A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA.

Skills

• Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.
• Ability to perform patient history and physical.
• Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.
• Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.
• Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
• Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
• Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
• Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
• Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.
• Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
• Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).
• Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
• Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel.
• Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes.
• Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.

Benefits

None specified.

Pay

Not specified.

Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8 hour shifts, 8-4:30 PM. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Contact Information

All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.

Additional Information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-care system is open to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, genetic information, or military service.