PHYSICIAN CARDIOLOGIST

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 VA 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 are ineligible to apply.

Responsibilities

• Provides competent care to a diverse Veteran population with consideration for differences in cultural, socio-economic, military service and age-specific criteria
• Obtains relevant health and medical history
• Performs physical examination based on age and history
• Performs or orders preventive/diagnostic procedures based on client's age and history
• Identifies health and medical risk factors
• Applies critical thinking in the diagnostic process
• Synthesizes and analyzes collected data
• Formulates differential diagnosis based on history, physical examination, and diagnostic test results
• Establishes priorities to meet the health needs of the Veteran
• Formulates individualized treatment plan
• Selects appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions
• Develops a patient education plan
• Initiates consultation/referral as indicated
• Establishes priorities for interventions
• Provides individualized care appropriate to meet Veterans identified needs
• Implements interventions consistent with treatment plan
• Orders, conducts and interprets diagnostic tests accurately, and conveys those results to the patient
• Prescribes specific pharmacologic agents and/or nonpharmacologic therapies as indicated
• Demonstrates current knowledge of advanced pharmacology and therapeutics
• Follows any standardized procedures accordingly
• Implements current clinical guidelines/pathways
• Provides relevant patient education
• Makes appropriate referrals to other health care professionals and community agencies
• Participates in peer reviews as assigned
• Utilizes appropriate health care resources
• Obtains informed consent when appropriate
• Maintains a process for systematic follow-up
• Evaluates effectiveness of treatment plan promptly
• Documents effects of interventions and outcomes of care in the patient record accurately
• Reassesses and modifies plan as necessary to achieve health care goals
• Serves on committees, teams, workgroups, and chart reviews as requested/approved by administration
• Completes all training as mandated by VA
• The Cardiologist Physician is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive health care plan for patients within scope of specialty
• Provides ongoing inpatient or outpatient care for patients in the assigned clinical setting
• When consulting in an inpatient setting, makes inpatient rounds, as appropriate, to observe and record each patient's medical progress, updating and summarizing medical records, changing orders when appropriate, and notifying the responsible physician of significant changes in the patient's condition
• In the outpatient setting, evaluates outpatients and manages acute and chronic illnesses according to the usual scope of care to include attention to maintenance of stable conditions, preventive health care and screening. Consults with other physician(s) regarding diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of outpatients as indicated

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• 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
• Board Eligible/Certified in Cardiology. Experience in general Cardiology preferred
• Physical Requirements: Periods of long standing. Occasional lifting of moderately heavy objects. Long periods of sitting at a computer station. The need for high degree of accuracy, potentially stressful situations, and the ability to adapt work plans based on patient status

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement
• 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
  • Medical Degree: Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in 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
  • License: 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
• Additional Requirements:
  • Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR (2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), 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
  • 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)
  • Prerequisites for foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above: Facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant