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. Program 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

NOTE: This multi-discipline recruitment will result in the hiring of one of the following disciplines: Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant. Nurse Practitioners- must apply to announcement number: CBTD-12455529-24-LD Physician Assistant- must apply to announcement number:CBTD-12455534-24-LD This Physician Assistant position is in Urology located in the Surgical Service Line at the VA Togus, Maine location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. Included but are not limited to: The physician assistant is the initial point of contact within the urology section for physicians. Incumbent is expected to participate with inpatient rounds during the week and collaborate with providers to discuss patient presentations and developing plans for urological care. Incumbent continues to carry a full panel of patients which include both new consultations and routine follow up patients, working in the outpatient clinics, inpatient wards, providing consultative services to the ED, and assisting in the operating room when necessary. Demonstrates leadership in delivering and improving health care through collaborative strategies with others. Carrying out health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education activities. Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens. Ordering ancillary services, such as, pharmacy, social services, physical medicine and rehabilitation therapies, prosthetic services, etc. 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. Writing orders for or prescribing medications within defined Scope of Practice. 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. Dictating discharge summaries. The supervising physician must countersign the discharge summary. Admitting and discharging patients in consultation with, and on behalf of, the collaborating physician. Perform specialty service consults. Perform Compensation and Pension Evaluations. Obtain and document informed consent for treatments and procedures for which the PA is responsible. Ordering diagnostic studies and other special tests, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, etc. 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). Provide education and counseling of the patients and families in preventive care, medical conditions, and the use of prescribed treatments and drugs. Clinical care of patients in outpatient, inpatient, ED and OR settings, and asynchronous care. Adherence to VHA and local policies, including Bylaws, attendance at departmental meetings, and participation in committees as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday through Friday, 7:30 am-4:00 pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: May be available on Ad-Hoc based on supervisors discretion Virtual: This is not a virtual position. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact, Jaime Perez [email protected] , the EDRP Coordinator for questions or assistance.Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS):Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This is a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by a special rate. This position is in the Excepted Service. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. 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 VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

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. Physician Assistant Basic Requirements Master's degree in any discipline or a bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant ~AND~ Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam) ~AND~ Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia. Preferred Experience: in Urology, including OR. Grade Determinations: Physician Assistant-I (PA-I) (a) Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs. (b) 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: i. Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care. ii. Ability to perform patient history and physical. iii. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient. iv. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession. Physician Assistant-II (PA-II) (a) 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: i. Two years of successful practice as a PA. OR ii. 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 iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. (b) 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: i. Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems. ii. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions. iii. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care. iv. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care. v. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively. Physician Assistant-III (PA-III) (a) 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: i. Three years of successful practice as a PA. OR ii. 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 iii. 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. (b) 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: i. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care. ii. 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). iii. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials. iv. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel. v. 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.vi. 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. The full performance level of this vacancy is PA III. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of PA I to PA III. Physical Requirements: All applicants must be physically able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position. A pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Togus VA Medical Center 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330 US
• Name: Carlos Castillo
• Phone: 616-249-5300 X38031
• Email: [email protected]