Job opening: Physician (Primary Care-Westpoint) with Recruitment/Relocation Incentive/EDRP
Salary: $230 000 - 275 000 per year
Published at: Mar 19 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
The VA Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System is seeking two (2) Primary Care Physicians as leaders within a multidiscilpinary PACT team or as a float or gap provider assigned to provide comprehensive, collaborative acute and continuity care. These positions are located at the West Point VA Clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas.
A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate.
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
Duties
The Primary Care Physicians will deliver medical care in accordance with current clinical practice guidelines with attention to prevention via utilization of evidence-based clinical decision-making tools. In addition to the provision of high-quality medical care, PACT Physicians demonstrate excellence in customer service via compassionate and informed interpersonal relationships with Veterans, family members and staff. PACT Physicians report directly to the assigned Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and ultimately to the Associate Chief of Staff for Primary Care (ACOS/PC).
Duties include the following:
Ongoing, continuous care of one or more assigned panel(s) of Veterans.
Utilizing all available tools, such as registries, to enable effective and efficient identification and intervention of individual patients and cohorts.
Ensuring appropriate evaluation and access is provided to patients assigned to the patient panel.
Functioning at the full extent of the team member's relevant clinical privileges, credentials, scopes of practice, elements of practice, certification, functional statement, or other VHA or local facility approved documentation of competency.
Participating in team performance improvement and sustainment activities to optimize team efficiency and care delivery to patients.
Implementing primary care operations management processes, as appropriate.
Managing communications and facilitating safe transitions of patients between the PACT's site of care and other health care settings, using informal and formal communication methods, as appropriate.
Providing health education and health coaching on wellness, disease prevention, chronic care management, and self-management skills to patients and personal support persons, commensurate with the documented expertise or professional training of the PACT member.
Engaging patients in using health care, encouraging patients to engage personal support persons, receiving input from patients and personal support persons regarding VA care. Using formal and informal communications that are respectful, effective, timely, and bidirectional with all team members (including the patient and personal support persons) to convey significant, clinically relevant information for the care of the patient.
Providing health care commensurate to the PCP's licensure and clinical privileges or scope of practice.
Ensuring the patient's care plan contains medical recommendations for clinically indicated care.
Offering clinically indicated health care services to patients assigned to the PACT and providing or arranging for care to which patients consent
Providing leadership to the team including shared delegation of appropriate care and care processes to appropriate team members.
Reviewing available clinical and performance data with the team, focusing on continuous improvement of critical team processes.
Ensuring the patient has same-day access for face-to-face and telephone care visits during regular clinic hours.
Collaborating with PACT staff to develop personal health plans that incorporate care management and care coordination appropriate to the patient's needs.
Communicating with facility leadership regarding the resources needed by the PACT for optimal functions.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)
VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized, see details in "Education Section"
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
Qualifications
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.
Education: 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.
Licensure and Registration: 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:
Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR
Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
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.
Physical Requirements: See outlined below.
English Language Proficiency. Physicians appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d).
Preferred Experience:
2 or more years of VA or DOD experience
Board certified or eligible by national recognized certifying body, American Board of Internal Medicine, or American Board of Family Medicine
Previous experience providing effective medical treatment, consultation, and coordinating care in the outpatient or ambulatory primary care setting
Previous experience in women's health care duties to include, assessment and treatment of female patients, including pelvic examinations, pap smears and other related gender-specific healthcare of women, reviews diagnostic studies and reports abnormal findings.
Experience ordering appropriate tests including lab and imaging studies and incorporate results for a comprehensive treatment plan to include coordinating care between various specialties and disciplines.
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.
Physical Requirements: The position requires light to moderate lifting and carrying (up to 44 pounds), pushing (8-12 hours), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (8-12 hours), standing (8-12 hours), kneeling, repeated bending (8-12 hours), climbing (legs only 8-12 hours), climbing (use of legs and arms), both legs required, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, both eyes required, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of color, and hearing (aid permitted).
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, or
- 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.
- 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.]
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.
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): 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. The VISN 17 EDRP Coordinators can be reached at [email protected]
Contacts
- Address VA TX Valley Coastal Bend HCS
2601 Veterans Drive
Harlingen, TX 78550
US
- Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
- Email: [email protected]
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