Physician (Interventional Physiatrist) - Pain Management

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 are ineligible to apply.

Responsibilities

• Provides care for Veterans within the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center in Huntington, WV. Services will be offered through a combination of in-person visits and virtual/telehealth appointments, in the outpatient and inpatient setting, within an interprofessional specialty care team that utilizes the Biopsychosocial Model of Pain Care and the VA Stepped Care Model of Pain Management.
• Performs comprehensive medical and functional evaluations for Veterans referred to the Pain Clinic, including history, physical examination, and review of diagnostic studies.
• Establishes accurate pain diagnoses and comorbidities (e.g., substance use disorders, mental health issues) and collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to develop individualized, integrated treatment plans that emphasize functional restoration and self-management.
• Provides inpatient Chronic Pain consultative services for Veterans admitted to the hospital.
• Manages opioid medications and performs opioid medication adjustments including tapers as indicated and in compliance with current VA/DOD Long-term Opioid Therapy Clinical Practice Guidelines, and local VA policies.
• Orders, performs, reviews, and analyzes appropriate laboratory tests, imaging, and other diagnostic studies necessary to optimize the pain care plan. Follows up with Veterans regarding results per VHA standards to discuss care plans, changes to therapy, and additional monitoring or testing requirements.
• Collaborates with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other members of the interdisciplinary team.
• Completes all required electronic health record documentation in accordance with VHA standards, including timely, accurate entries for pain management activities, therapeutic changes, recommendations, procedures, and patient check-out (such as diagnostic and procedure codes). Ensures compliance with national and local performance measures, including prompt health screenings and completion of clinical reminders for patients.
• Provides clinical collaboration with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other members of the interdisciplinary team.
• Participates in program development activities, including data collection/management, policy development/adherence, and documentation, as indicated by section and service leadership.
• Participates in multidisciplinary team meetings, as well as pain committee and other pain meetings (e.g., data-based risk reviews), as indicated by section and service leadership.
• Participates in intra- and interdepartmental committees, task forces, and projects, as requested by section and service leadership.
• Provides didactics/lectures to medical staff within the area of pain management, specifically pain-focused interventions.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• Education: 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. Approved schools are:
  • Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
  • Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.
• Licensure: 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:
  • 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;
  • 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;
  • 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.
  • 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.
• Completion of either PM&R or Anesthesiology residency training in the US, and completion of minimum of one year of fellowship in interventional pain management or equivalent, such as spine medicine, musculoskeletal medicine, etc.
• Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.