Staff Physician/Section Chief of Ambulatory Care

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

• Primary Care of a panel of primary care patients (male and female)
• Provide comprehensive assessment, diagnostic work-up and clinic intervention, including comprehensive patient assessment, health history, physical examination, and patient education to Veterans in the Primary Care team setting; outpatients include both scheduled and unscheduled Veterans.
• Function as an integral part of a Primary Care multi-disciplinary team to coordinate, facilitate, and provide patient care and services.
• Discriminate between normal and abnormal findings to establish a diagnosis and initiate appropriate response to emergency health problems.
• Initiate appropriate referrals and consultations to other clinical services.
• Order and evaluate diagnostic tests as appropriate, recommend treatment and/or referral.
• Validate the effectiveness of previously implemented medical treatment.
• Initiate, evaluate, and change orders for medications.
• Include patient and family in planning care and establishing realistic measurable goals for health maintenance/improvement.
• Record/document health appraisal information, clinical assessments, treatment decisions, plan of care, ongoing management and therapeutic outcomes, order medications, diagnostic tests and referral consultations where needed for every patient encounter; recording will be accomplished using the electronic comprehensive patient record system (CPRS), and will be completed on the day of the encounter.
• Respond to computerized "alerts" indicating diagnostic test abnormalities and to health line requests from Veterans/family members on the day of receipt (weekends excepted).
• Follow Performance Measure guidelines, including completion of clinical reminders in CPRS. Access and timeliness standards; prescription order entry, National VA formulary requirements, and customer service standards.
• Work effectively with patients, families, members of the multi-disciplinary team, and other staff.
• Demonstrate flexibility in responding to clinic demands, adhere to personal and professional obligations and responsibilities, practice and maintain ethical standards, and sustain a work environment that is harmonious and customer service oriented.
• Act as surrogates for the patients of their colleagues when their colleagues are on leave/travel.
• Serve as a resource for nurse practitioners or physician assistants who are also delivering primary care and respond to all staff in the primary care teams regarding patient concerns.
• Have primary responsibility for supervising other LIP's and staff in the Service, and for ensuring that staff are performing to the highest standards of clinical care excellence, time, efficiency, professional and ethical behavior.

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. 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.

• United States 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.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Experience in Primary Care is a pre-requisite for selection.