Physician - Surgery Section Chief

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. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): $15,000 per year for 3 years Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): $10,000 lump sum paid up front may be authorized for eligible, highly qualified, current VA employees only. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. 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 Duties: 60% clinical time spent evaluating, operating on and caring for General Surgery patients. 40% administrative time with duties outlined below. Deliver compassionate and competent general surgical care to veterans, including preoperative evaluation, diagnostic work-up, surgical intervention, postoperative care, evaluation and treatment of complications, and discharge planning across the outpatient, inpatient, and urgent care environments. Operate in the operating room, performing major and minor general surgical procedures within our current complexity rating. Operating room duties are a required component of this position. Provide on-call coverage on a rotational basis with other member of the section, including night and weekend coverage relevant to the care of the surgical patient. On-call coverage is a required component of this position. Answer inpatient and outpatient consultations, make referrals and treatment/medication recommendations, and follow the care of veterans experiencing problems, remaining actively engaged with the primary team on patient management. Manage and coordinate community care needs, and inform patients of all test results and recommend care/treatments. Maintain clear, accurate, and current clinical records completed at the time of discharge, and be fully knowledgeable in and utilize the facility electronic health record. Report unusual incidents promptly to the appropriate official. Participate in ward/ICU rounds, morbidity and mortality conferences, grand rounds, and other clinically relevant academic and service activities as assigned. Supervise and train physician assistants, nurse practitioners, residents, and medical student trainees as assigned. Establish and promote an atmosphere of unity though collaborative practice and effective communication among all staff disciplines, fostering a high level of patient and staff satisfaction. Provide direct supervision of surgical physician staff, advanced practice nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and the dermatology and wound care providers assigned to the Surgery Section. Generally responsible for approving and overseeing surgical staff schedules and call rotations. Delegated responsibility for approving leave requests, overtime, and changes in tour of duty or clinic schedules as authorized by the Chief, Surgery Service. Provide ongoing oversight of Section schedules to ensure adequate clinic, or, and on-call coverage across all sites of care. Conduct quarterly progress reviews with each employee assigned to the Surgery Section, documenting performance, productivity, and professional development, and addressing any performance or conduct concerns in a timely manner. These quarterly reviews are in addition to required annual performance evaluations, proficiency reports, and OPPE/FPPE actions. Provide oversight of section productivity, including monitoring workload, access and clinic utilization, or efficiency and cancellation rates, and other productivity measures, and take action to address gaps. Prepare for and participate in accreditation site visits and inspections, and implement corrective actions for identified deficiencies while maintaining documentation of compliance efforts. Participate in morbidity and mortality surgical conferences, staff meetings, peer review, and VAMC committees as assigned or designated by the chief, surgery service, contributing medical expertise to policy development, strategic planning, and operational management. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Compressed Work Schedule: Not Authorized 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: Credentialing and demonstrated competency in endoscopy procedures Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. 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: Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted. 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.