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 VA Northern Arizona Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Desert Pacific Network. We're an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 (VISN 22).

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

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

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

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 $2,000 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

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• All professional, clinical and administrative activities within the Psychiatry Section, MHBS including selection, orientation, and continuing education of staff.
• Assuring that all Psychiatric staff receive education on assessing and managing pain.
• Monitoring and evaluating the quality of care provided in the Psychiatry Section, including access, efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of care and treatment of patients served by the SL and the clinical/professional performance of all individuals in the Psychiatry Section. Monitoring and evaluation within the Psychiatry Section will include case reviews, quality of psychosocial intakes, drug-usage evaluation, medical record reviews, risk management, patient safety data, sentinel event data, appropriateness of clinical practice patterns, and utilization review as reported by committees tasked with these functions.
• Assuring that individuals in the Psychiatry Section with clinical privileges competently provide service within the scope of privileges granted.
• Recommending to the Medical Executive Board the criteria for clinical privileges that are relevant to the care provided in the Psychiatry Section.
• Recommending appointment and clinical privileges for each medical staff member of the Psychiatry Section.
• Reviewing Psychiatry provider performance improvement activities and data as part of the renewal of privileges/scope of practice.
• Developing and implementation of procedures that guide & support the provision of care, treatment & services within the Psychiatry Section.
• Continuous assessment and improvement of the quality of care, treatment, and services within the Psychiatry Section.
• Reviewing appropriate supply and demand data within individual Psychiatry clinics via a variety of reports.
• Pulling and reviewing reports related to Psychiatry provider clinic utilization as mapped to the assigned MCA DSS labor report; ensuring maximum use of provider time to accommodate patient care needs and balance supply & demand based on variation to the system.
• Developing backlog reduction plans for the Psychiatry Section when delays occur.
• Assisting the Mental Health Programs Manager in developing and executing a viable contingency plan policy & process within the Psychiatry Section.
• Promoting and enforcing compliance with access targets, measures, metrics, policies, etc. withing the Psychiatry Section.
• Reviewing Psychiatry clinic profiles on a regular basis & updating as appropriate.
• All other duties as assigned.

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

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/examination.
• 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.

Preferred Experience:

• Board certification in Psychiatry.
• Progressive leadership experience managing a Psychiatry Section or major mental health program, including responsibility for professional and administrative activities (hiring, orientation, evaluation, and staff development).
• Demonstrated success monitoring and improving quality of psychiatric care using data (case reviews, medical record reviews, risk management, patient safety, utilization and access metrics).
• Experience developing and implementing clinical procedures, practice standards, and performance improvement initiatives within a multidisciplinary mental health service line.
• Proven ability to oversee credentialing and privileging processes, including recommending criteria for privileges and conducting ongoing professional performance evaluations for psychiatric providers.
• Experience managing clinic operations using advanced clinic access principles, including supply & demand analysis, backlog reduction, and strategies to reduce no-shows and improve access metrics.
• Prior responsibility for integrating psychiatry services across multiple care settings (medical center and CBOCs/rural clinics) and coordinating with other hospital departments and service lines.
• Experience providing clinical care to Veterans or similar complex adult populations across the lifespan, with demonstrated cultural competence in working with diverse groups, including military and minority populations.
• Demonstrated ability to use VA or comparable electronic health record and reporting systems (e.g., VistA/CPRS or similar) to manage panels, review utilization reports, and monitor clinic performance.
• Experience leading or participating in quality control, patient safety, and risk management programs in a mental health or hospital setting.
• DEA waiver and experience providing Medication-Assisted Treatment, including prescribing buprenorphine/Suboxone and managing clozapine treatment panels.

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

Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5019/1, Part II, Pre-Placement Physical Examination and Evaluation.

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

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

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