This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

The Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC) is currently recruiting for one full-time, permanent vascular surgeon. MEDVAMC is the largest hospital in the VHA network and home to the highest-volume vascular surgery service. Its Operative Care Line is ranked #1 in operating room efficiency and #1 in case complexity. We typically perform about 1,200 cases per year. The majority is limb salvage, the remainder a balance of carotid disease, dialysis access, aneurysms and amputations. A non-salaried faculty appointment in the Baylor College of Medicine's Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery would be expected. The vascular surgeon will be an integral part of the Operative Care Line and is called upon to provide the following: A wide array of open and minimally invasive vascular and endovascular procedures. This may include assisting surgical trainees with vascular surgery. Care of the Veterans' medical needs by performing examination, surgical consultation, and developing treatment and follow-up plans. This may be provided as the Attending on the inpatient surgical service or in the outpatient surgical clinic. This care may be delivered via in-person encounters, telehealth, phone consultation, e-consults and other means. Diagnosis, treatment recommendations and patient education, given to both the patient and family. Documentation of patient encounters, notes, and correctly coding visits in accordance with coding guidelines, VA Handbook 1907. Input on discharge planning and interdisciplinary patient care plan activities. Maintenance of skills, proficiencies, and professional knowledge required for licensing and clinical scope of practice. Participation staff meetings, serve on committees, teams, workgroups, and peer reviews as requested. PRIVILEGES include privileges to perform a history and physical; to admit, evaluate, diagnose, consult, and provide pre-, intra and post-operative care to patients with peripheral (non-cardiac, extracranial) vascular conditions; management of critically ill vascular surgery patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit; and to perform surgical procedures to correct or treat various conditions, diseases, disorders, and injuries of the arterial, venous, and lymphatic circulatory systems, exclusive of those circulatory vessels intrinsic to the heart and intracranial vessels. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Approved to highly qualified candidates Education Debt Reduction Program: The Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) serves as a significant recruitment and retention tool by securing the services of critical health care professionals for up to five (5) years through student loan payment reimbursement. Learn more. EDRP Authorized: Contact Demetrius Roberts is the EDRP Coordinator and can be reached at [email protected] or 713-791-1414 ext 23185 for questions/assistance Learn more. 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-Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm

Requirements

Qualifications

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 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 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), 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. 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 or fee-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. Proficiency in spoken and written English. Additional Requirement: Board Certified or Board Eligible Vascular Surgery Provide resident supervision and clinical instruction in the operating room, outpatient clinic and inpatient settings; attend, participate and supervise residents/students in outpatient clinics and take an active role in the evaluation of the patient, decision for treatment/care, and documentation in the patient electronic records; Conduct postoperative follow-up. If admitted, visit the in-house patient within 24-48 hours following anesthesia to assess post-surgical recovery. Participate in call coverage to advise and supervise residents. Call response time of 15 minutes by phone and 60 minutes in person is expected at MEDVAMC. This includes nights, weekends, and holiday hours. To support graduate medical education, the surgeon must be competitive for faculty appointment in the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine. Achievements and awards that would demonstrate the capacity to further Baylor's academic mission would include: primary author on at least five original, peer-reviewed manuscripts; co-author on at least twenty peer-reviewed manuscripts; receiving a research awards; fifteen or more podium presentations of original research and national or regional meetings; receiving a teaching award. Able to safely and effectively perform procedures that provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art management of lower extremity peripheral artery disease in patients with foot ulcer or gangrene, with or without superimposed infection (i.e. "limb salvage" efforts): At least 400 cases (independent or with supervision) of diagnostic angiography. At least 200 cases (independent or with supervision) of endovascular intervention, including angioplasty, stent placement, intravascular lithotripsy, and other interventions, at all levels from the abdominal aorta to the level of the distal foot. Percutaneous retrograde pedal access; Antegrade femoral artery access. Infrainguinal bypasses of all types, including: femoropopliteal, femorotibial, and femoropedal; and re-operative bypasses. Because of our hospital's high volume and high complexity, we are looking for applicants with experience of at least 150 peripheral cases (independent or with supervision). Harvesting of autogenous vein, including arm veins; experience with cryopreserved human allograft vein and/or arterial segments for use in infrainguinal bypass. Construction of distal vein patches for use in infrainguinal bypass with prosthetic conduits. Femoral artery reconstructions, including endarterectomies and patch angioplasties. Aortobifemoral bypass for occlusive disease; extraanatomic bypasses, including femorofemoral and axillofemoral. The use of ultrasound for: precise percutaneous access of arterial segments; surgeon-performed mapping of autogenous veins for use in infrainguinal bypass (to be done in clinic or bedside). Perform both open aortic aneurysm operations; and complex endovascular interventions for descending thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, including (but not limited to): placement fenestrated stent-graft devices; placement of iliac branched stent-graft devices; laser fenestration for subclavian artery to allow branch vessel preservation when placing a stent-graft to treat proximal descending thoracic aortic aneurysms or aortic dissections; and adjunctive mesenteric and renal endovascular interventions such as coil embolization using micro-catheters. Able to safely and effectively: perform procedures for the management of infected prosthetic vascular grafts, including graft explantation and replacement with extra-anatomic bypasses or with biologic conduits; perform procedures for the management of acute limb ischemia, including (but not limited to): open surgical thromboembolectomy; catheter-directed pharmacochemical and mechanical thromboembolectomy; and performance of four-compartment fasciotomies of the calf; perform other common peripheral vascular procedures, including the establishment of permanent hemodialysis access, carotid endarterectomy, amputations of the lower extremity (including transfemoral, transtibial, and partial foot levels) and ablation and/or stripping for varicose saphenous veins. Preferred Experience: Experience effectively using the Anigojet, Penumbra, and Inari devices for percutaneous endovascular management of thromboembolic problems. Experience performing transcarotid arterial revascularization (TCAR) for the treatment of extracranial carotid artery stenosis. Experience performing thoracic outlet decompression for the treatment of venous, arterial +/- neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Able to perform fasciotomies of the thigh, calf, foot, forearm and upper arm compartments. Willing to do community outreach to prevent limb loss within the veteran population. Interest in occasional travel to VA community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in the regional that refer to MEDVAMC for outpatient clinics. Experience with root cause analysis and focus group meetings to improve quality, safety and outcomes. Advanced (Master's or Doctoral) degree in patient safety, quality improvement, outcomes or public health to provide the capability of co-leading MEDVAMC efforts to reduce amputation incidence among its patient population. Experience with statistical analysis of clinical outcomes data using Stata or R statistical programing language. Certified or eligible for Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RVPI) certification by the Alliance for Physician Certification and Advancement (APCA). Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-2 Physician Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Education

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
2. 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.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.]

Contacts

• Address Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Alisha Crane
• Phone: 909-961-4840
• Email: [email protected]