Physician-Section Chief Hospice & Palliative Care

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

• Clinical Responsibilities: Incumbent spends 70% of time with clinical responsibilities. Provide medical oversight, leadership and supervision of a 15-bed Community Living Center(CLC) Hospice Palliative Care Unit. This includes supervision over the medical/provider staff who work in multi-disciplinary teams to coordinate, facilitate and provide patient care and services. Provide administrative (supervisor and section) and clinical oversight of all Hospice Palliative Care (HPC) programs. Provide supervision, as appropriate, of fellows, residents and students conducting direct clinical care. Deliver in-service training for medical center staff, residents, and medical students. Be responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center as appropriate and outcome data as appropriate. Perform transitional care as a consultant providing face-to-face consultation to patients under the care of the medical center's inpatient and emergency department services as appropriate. Educate Veterans, staff, and family about Palliative Care, Hospice, and end-of-life issues. Consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues. Remain involved in program evaluation. Maintain full clinical privilege as a member of the Medical Staff. Abide by Medical Staff By-Laws. Administrative Responsibilities: Incumbent spends 30% of time managing the HPC Services. This includes but is not limited to supervising a variety of positions including administrative positions, physicians, and nurse practitioners. Provides leadership guidance and consultation to staff. Has direct administrative supervision of the Hospice Palliative Care (HPC) physicians and nurse practitioners. Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees. Represents HPC on decision-making committees at the Rehabilitation and Geriatric and Extended Care Integrated Clinical Communities(REC ICC). Ensures the implementation and maintenance of standards for medical providers and forecast requirements necessary to maintain and increase efficiency and effectiveness of clinical care. Participates in establishing policies, procedures, and guidelines for the delivery of services. Communicates provider responsibilities and medical care policies, procedures and guidelines to all providers in HPC. Provides education and mentoring to other interdisciplinary teams, patients, families, and referring physicians. Assists the ACOS of Geriatric and Extended Care on the coordination of HPC services response in the event of critical occurrences of violence at the facility, disasters, and/or mass casualty occurrences. 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 Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 08:00am - 04:30pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

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.