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

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards The Primary Care Service Line within the Bangor, Maine CBOC is seeking to fill a Physician Assistant position through this announcement, Nurse Practitioner through announcement #12224873, or Physician through announcement #12221888 The responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to: - Obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations on inpatients and outpatients. - Admitting and discharging patients in consultation with, and on behalf of, the collaborating physician. - Carrying out health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education activities. - Dictating discharge summaries. The collaborating physician must countersign the discharge summary. - Document operative notes if the PA was present for the procedure. The operative surgeon must review and co-sign the note. - Evaluating outpatients to determine the need for further health care. - Participation and documentation of Life Sustaining Treatment Goals of Therapy discussions, including DNR/DNAR orders - Making daily rounds to observe and record each patient's medical progress, updating and summarizing medical records, changing orders when appropriate and notifying the responsible physician of significant changes in the patient's condition. - Obtain and document informed consent for procedures for which the PA is an integral member of the treatment team performing the procedure such as assisting the primary surgeon (note: The PA need not participate in the particular procedure the patient is scheduled to undergo but the PA must be authorized to perform or participate in the procedure by the Scope of Practice and must have sufficient knowledge and training in the treatment procedure, its indications, risk and benefits, complications, and alternative treatment, to effectively counsel the patient). - Obtain and document informed consent for treatments and procedures for which the PA is responsible. - Ordering ancillary services, such as, pharmacy, social services, physical medicine and rehabilitation therapies, prosthetic services, etc. - Ordering diagnostic studies and other special tests, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, etc. - Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens. - Ordering patient care supplies. - Ordering VA specialty service consults and initiating requests for non-VA medical care and consults in accordance with VHA and local facility policy and procedures. - Perform Compensation and Pension Evaluations - Perform specialty service consults - Performing periodic physical examinations on nursing home and domiciliary residents. - Provide education and counseling of the patients and families in preventive care, medical conditions, and the use of prescribed treatments and drugs. Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) 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 Work Schedule: Full-Time, 40 hours per week Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not Authorized Telework/Virtual/Remote Work: Not authorized Relocation, Recruitment: May be authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or Travel Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This is a Bargaining Unit Position. This position is in the Excepted Service. The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will recommend the grade and salary for new appointments based on the candidate's education and experience. For internal selectees being promoted, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f). Education: Graduate of a training program which is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of PA (ARC-PA) or one of its predecessor organizations. Additionally, candidates must meet one of the following: Master's degree in any discipline; OR Bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a PA. Certification: Must have successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE). Licensure: PAs must possess an active, current, full, and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. PAs must maintain current registration in the State of licensure if this is a requirement for continuing active and current licensure in that State. Preferred Experience: Must have aboard certification as an PA from a VA-approved certifying body required. The ability to act as a consultant for other health care providers Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements you must meet the following grade requirements. PA-I: Experience and Education: None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: The following list of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) present the minimum skill set expected of an Entry Level PA. This practice may include, but is not limited to: Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care. Ability to perform patient history and physical. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession. PA-II: Experience and Education: The PA at this grade is at the intermediate grade level and has had progressively increasing responsibility and experiences as indicated in the KSAs listed below. Individuals will have demonstrated the ability to analyze and solve more complex medical problems than at the entry level grade and can utilize their training in the successful practice of patient care and participate in team problem solving. Individuals demonstrate the KSAs of PA-II intermediate level by: Two years of successful practice as a PA. OR; Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency. OR; A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-II: Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively. PA-III: Experience and Education: PAs at the PA-III grade are at the full performance level and lead and organize patient care independently, practice within multi-disciplinary teams, and coordinate all aspects of patient care across the health care system. They utilize advanced clinical knowledge and judgment in decision-making and evaluating outcomes. They function as experts in clinical practice and/or in areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities, may serve as mentors for transitioning PAs, and may provide training for health care students. Individuals can demonstrate the KSAs for the full performance level by: Three years of successful practice as a PA. OR; Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA. OR; A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-III: Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE). Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-8 Physician Assistant Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: No special physical qualifications are required to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around the office and facility. The work is performed in offices, patient care settings and meeting rooms.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Togus VA Medical Center 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330 US
• Name: Nicole Bulowski
• Phone: 207-623-8411 X3444
• Email: [email protected]