Summary

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

Duties

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The Chief of Imaging is responsible for the clinical, operational, administrative, educational, quality, safety, and strategic leadership of Imaging Services at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC). The Chief provides physician leadership for Imaging Service, including oversight of clinical imaging quality, radiologist performance, imaging protocols, imaging appropriateness, radiation safety, peer review participation, radiology quality improvement, imaging informatics, modality operations, and cross-campus imaging support. The Chief ensures that imaging services support inpatient, outpatient, emergency, surgical, primary care, specialty care, occupational, readiness, and recruit-processing missions at the West Campus, East Campus/Great Lakes Naval Station clinics, and affiliated clinical programs.

Scope: Facility-wide responsibility for diagnostic imaging, image-guided services, nuclear medicine/PET-CT, imaging informatics, radiation safety leadership, radiology quality improvement, and imaging support across Lovell FHCC's integrated VA/DoD mission.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical Leadership and Patient Care

• Provides direct radiologic interpretation and procedural oversight across all imaging modalities.
• Maintains timely, accurate reporting and updates imaging protocols for safe, evidence-based care.
• Supports imaging for VA/DoD beneficiaries across West Campus, East Campus, and Great Lakes sites.
• Advises clinicians on imaging appropriateness, safety, and critical findings communication.

Operational and Administrative Leadership

• Leads Imaging Services across all sites and modalities.
• Manages operations, staffing, workflows, policies, and contingency plans.
• Oversees access, prioritization, turnaround times, quality review, and service integration.
• Guides resource allocation, budgeting, performance analytics, and operational continuity.

Supervision and Personnel Leadership

• Supervises radiologists and provides practice leadership for Imaging staff.
• Defines expectations, supports recruitment, performance evaluation, mentoring, and staff development.
• Ensures professionalism, accountability, and compliance with licensure and privileges.

Quality, Safety, Compliance

• Ensures adherence to regulatory standards and imaging safety programs.
• Coordinates radiation, MRI, contrast, nuclear medicine, emergency preparedness, and accreditation activities.
• Responds to safety events and supports quality programs and audits.

Imaging Informatics and Technology

• Leads PACS, EHR imaging workflows, interoperability, image exchange, and advanced tools.
• Supports enterprise imaging integration across VA/DoD sites and contingency processes.

VA/DoD Mission Support

• Ensures imaging reliability for joint VA/Navy operations.
• Resolves cross-campus workflow issues and supports readiness and recruit-related needs.

Education and Research

• Supports trainee education, supervision, scholarly activity, and compliant research.

Committees and Strategic Leadership

• Represents Imaging on key committees, chairs safety/quality groups, and leads strategic planning.

Clinical Practice Expectations

• Maintains competence through active practice, CME, certification, and balanced clinical/administrative duties.

Leadership Expectations

• Models ICARE values, communicates openly, uses data-driven decision-making, fosters safety and improvement, and anticipates emerging needs.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for a highly qualified individual.

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): May be authorized for a highly qualified individual.

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment) Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact [redacted], the EDRP Coordinator 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

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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 allopathic 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 accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR
  • (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR
  • (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), 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.
  • Exceptions:
    
    • 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 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.
    • In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Additional Requirement:

• Board Certified/Board Eligible

Preferred Experience:

• At least 10 years of clinical experience.
• Supervisory experience preferred.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The Chief of Imaging must be able to perform the cognitive, communicative, and professional functions required of a physician leader and practicing radiologist. Duties require the ability to review diagnostic images, use imaging workstations and electronic health record systems, communicate effectively in urgent and routine clinical settings, participate in meetings, respond to operational issues, and provide leadership across multiple clinical locations. The position may require on-site presence, participation in urgent issue resolution, and use of secure remote access or teleradiology tools as authorized. o perform in a fully successful manner, the individual must have the physical ability to perform job-related duties which may require light carrying (under 15 pounds), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (up to 1 hour), standing (up to 1 hour), and both legs required. In addition, there may be exposure to the following environmental factors: working inside and outside, working closely with others, and protracted or irregular hours of work. A health examination must be successfully completed prior to this assignment and periodically thereafter as required by the Occupational Health Clinic policy. There may be intermittent exposure to blood and body fluids.

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:

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year 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.

Additional information

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