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 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

Help

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.

EDRP Authorized:

• Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

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

Administrative (Supervisory) Responsibilities (~50% of time)

• Serves as co-leader for a multi-disciplinary team alongside the Acute Mental Health (AMH) Section Co-Chief
• Directly supervises psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners in the Emergency Department, Acute Psychiatric Unit, Consult-Liaison Service, and Access Clinic
• Oversees the education of residents and students assigned to the service
• Responsible for managing staffing, including coordinating scheduled leave to provide adequate coverage for acute services and psychiatric emergencies
• Responsible for communicating and evaluating performance measures to supervisees
• Responsible for initializing action for selections, promotions, status changes, awards, disciplinary actions, and separations, as well as evaluating staff competency and providing training as needed
• Ensures that all supervisees work cooperatively with interdisciplinary staff members in matters related to program planning and individual patient treatment across all acute services
• Performs other related duties as assigned

Clinical Responsibilities (~50% of time)

• Oversees the care of psychiatric patients in the Emergency Department, the Acute Psychiatric Unit, the Consult & Liaison Service, and the Access Clinic
• Primary provider of psychiatric care for designated patients
• Provides consultation for staff and trainees and assists in treatment plan formulation
• Provide training and guidance to residents and medical students
• Uses validated suicide screening tools to assess for safety, and determining need for psychiatric hospitalization
• Coordination of patient care with Medical/ED staff and outpatient Mental Health Services

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday - 8:00 am to 4:30 PM (NEGOTIABLE)

Requirements

Help

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 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:

• Minimum 2 years experience in VHA
• Board Certification

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

Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting (under 15-44lbs); Moderate carrying (Under 15-44lbs); Reaching over shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (approx. 5 hours); Standing (approx. 4 hours.); Kneeling (approx. 1 hour); Repeated bending (approx. 4 hours); Both legs required; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; 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; Mental/Emotional Stability.

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.