Physician - Pain Management/Whole Health Section Chief

Summary

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.

Duties

• **This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 25th, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be July 20th, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates every 2 weeks. Eligible applications received after that date will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.** VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm 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 The Pain Management/Whole Health Section Chief - physician is assigned to Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) Service at VACCHCS. VA provides patient centered care, delivered by engaged, collaborative teams in an integrated environment that supports learning and continuous improvement. The Veteran's experience and health outcomes are improved with an emphasis on prevention through healing relationships in an optimal healing environment. The pain management - whole health physician must have outstanding clinical and interpersonal skills as a member of the VA professional health care team, and provides continuous veteran-centered care for a variety of medical ailments. This is a leadership/supervisory position in charge developing and administering VA CCHCS Pain Management/Whole Health Section. This position supervises assigned employees under Pain Management/ Whole Health Section and works effectively with collaborating services/clinicians to advance the Pain Management-PMOP and Whole Health Program goals for the service and the facility. Duties will include administrative and supervisory duties, Facility Pain point of contact duties, day to day care of veteran patients, at the outpatient and inpatient settings when consulted. Position entails interacting with local PMOP and Whole Health stakeholders, as well as VISN and National program leadership and stakeholders. Position is a member of the PM&R Service leadership. The incumbent is involved in clinical and educational programs for students and healthcare trainees, and is encouraged to participate in research activities. The physician will apply for academic appointment with University of California San Francisco (UCSF)- Fresno Medical Education Program, California Health Sciences University (CHSU), and/or other educational programs deemed appropriate by the service chief, as approved through Education Service and Facility Leadership and as opportunity is available. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Responsible for development of these programs in line with National VHA and local VA initiatives, accountable for programs meeting its target goals and VHA outcomes measures Supervisory position responsible for supervision and evaluation of assigned staff's performance per VA policies and procedures Works closely with all healthcare professionals throughout VACCHCS and provides consultations to other services. Participates in quality assurance programs and chart reviews. Complies with all quality performance measures and improvement programs. The physician will be subject to professional performance, including clinical and technical skills, as well as VACCHCS performance improvement monitoring activities [e.g. Ongoing Professional Evaluations (OPPE), Focused Professional Practice Evaluations (FPPE), etc.]. Participates in committees and task forces especially those related to Whole Health and Pain Management. Other duties as assigned by supervisor and/or leadership.

Requirements

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 examination. 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.

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 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.