The Chief of Staff (COS) reports to the Medical Center Director and is a full member of the Executive Leadership Team. The COS provides leadership of clinical care, with an emphasis on promotion of access to high quality health care for veterans as well as patient safety. The COS is actively involved in VA Bedford Healthcare System's leadership and management of resources, organizational performance improvement, patient and employee satisfaction, environment of care and strategic planning.

Duties

The COS is responsible for leading and guiding the clinical staff in support of the VHA's core values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence in the provision of these duties. Duties also include but not limited to the following. Promotes the development of health care professionals in the health care system through counseling, mentoring, teaching, and encouraging self-assessment. Contributes to an environment that provides educational activity, and administrative planning and evaluation based on integration and application of current health care principles. Establishes mechanisms whereby the health care system administration, and other VHA components are informed, in a timely manner, of clinical program developments that affect them. Takes an active role as a health care system management team member, providing advice and counsel in defining and accomplishing the health care system and VACO mission and goals. Represents the health care system, internally and externally, in such a manner as to reflect positively on the health care system, the VISN and the VHA. Serves as professional liaison of the health care system to Department of VA and Federal facilities, the community, affiliates, media, congressional offices, and constituent organizations. Maintains and promotes high ethical and clinical standards that are carried into decision making processes. Promotes constructive problem resolution in an environment of competing priorities. Monitors and ensures staff compliance with agency regulations, medical staff by-laws, rules and regulations, VA facility policies, Joint Commission standards and other appropriate regulations and creates an environment of system-oriented quality improvement. Ensures all Veterans receive safe, quality, efficient, timely, and appropriate care with the highest professional and ethical standards and quality of care. Ensures the highest level of performance by medical staff members through appropriate delineation of clinical privileges, ongoing performance evaluations, orientation, and use of continuous quality improvement practices. Completes performance evaluations of assigned service line managers and clinical service chiefs. Responsible for standard of medical care and professional integration of services across service lines. Directs the medical staff governance, by-laws and credentialing and privileging. Promotes an effective mix, coordination, and support of health care system clinical programs by evaluating current and potential patient population needs, clinical workload and resources, special program mandates and cost/benefit analysis making recommendations to the Facility Director ensuring implementation of approved clinical proposals. Provides advice to health care system staff through policy guidance and activities on behalf of patients and their clinical care. Demonstrates commitment to recruitment and retention of high-quality clinical staff. Demonstrates commitment to facility research program goals and objectives Demonstrates commitment to achieving EEO goals and objectives. Ensures the productivity of clinical staff. Authority and accountability of credentialing and privileging as Chair of the Medical Executive Council (MEC). Interprets regulatory and legal issues, monitoring medical staff and other licensed independent practitioner's compliance and quality of practice. Initiates appropriate actions such as discipline, revocation or suspension of all or selected individual privileging Creates and promotes a High Reliability Organization, fostering an environment of system oriented continuous quality improvement, within which program and quality of care effectiveness are evaluated. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Relocation Incentive: Authorized for highly qualified Candidates 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 (7:30a - 4:00p)

Requirements

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. 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 Certification Preferred Experience: 5 Years of experience in Health care management, including experience with front-line driven improvement and innovation. 3 Years of Leadership Experience. Experience in Medical Education and Research. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary and is performed in a health care setting for treating patients with a variety of medical problems. Normal safety precautions and practices are required for working in a healthcare environment. Other physical demands include reaching, bending, stretching, walking, and carrying light loads of supplies. The position often entails long periods of sitting at a computer, rigid deadlines, the need for a high degree of accuracy, high stress situations, and the ability to adapt work plans based on hospital needs.

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 VA Bedford Healthcare System 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 US
• Name: Reesha Speller
• Email: [email protected]