Summary

The Chief of Podiatry, Durham VA Health Care System has supervisory responsibility over the staff podiatrists and assigned health professions trainees located across North Carolina at the Durham VA Medical Center, the Greenville Health Care Center, the Garner Community Based Outpatient clinic and the Clayton Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Telehealth program.

Duties

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FUNCTIONS:

• The position exercises full operational responsibility as first level supervisor over other podiatrists in the surgical service. Plans and adjust daily assignments for supervised staff assigned to the clinic and operating rooms. Evaluates competencies of newly assigned personnel and others as required and orients staff to policies and procedures of the clinic and operating room. Conducts staff meetings and coordinates in-service training. Executes all facility and departmental policies. Promotes sound management principles, initiates and/or recommends personnel actions, develops employee work standards, observes and evaluates employee performance, identifies training needs and ensures that training is provided. Counsels employees and takes disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands, referring more serious complaints to a higher level supervisor. Investigates and resolves formal and informal patient and staff complaints and grievances. Approves and disapproves leave. Provides clinical counseling as needed. Serves as a role model emphasizing caring leadership. Provide technical oversight; interviews candidates for subordinate positions; and recommend hiring, promotion or reassignments.
• Serves as a fully credentialed, expert, Board Certified Podiatrist with clinical privileges, performing diagnoses and treatment for the full range of cases, problems, and injuries encountered in the specialty. applying extensive knowledge and understanding of medical sciences underlying the field of podiatry; pharmacology, and lower extremity biomechanics to perform various routine and complex medical and surgical procedures. Serves as a consultant to other podiatrists on difficult or unusual cases in podiatric specialties, and as a Subject Matter Expert in Diabetic Wound Care. Facilitates access to medical care by making appropriate referrals to other health care providers in accordance with applicable policies and regulations.
• Directs efforts of podiatric health promotion and disease prevention and participates in the Prevention of Amputation for Veterans Everywhere program and Limb Preservation Initiatives. Creates referral consult templates that promote disease prevention.
• Directs efforts of the Director of Podiatric Medical Education to stand up training programs: the podiatry post-graduate Limb Preservation Fellowship, and other graduate and post-graduate training programs to increase access to podiatric services.
• Directs efforts to develop research initiatives that will serve veterans.
• Oversees telehealth podiatry programs, including Clinical Video Teleconferencing (CVT), Store and Forward Technology (SFT), VA Video Connect (VVC), Telephone, and the Remote Temperature Monitoring (RTM) programs.
• Responsible for all administrative activities normally associated with patient care in a timely manner, such as consult review and triage, completion of patient medical records, encounters, and other documents necessary in the operation of an inpatient/outpatient treatment clinic.
• Maintains an unrestricted podiatric medical license and completes the required continued Medical Education through conferences, reading programs or other approved CME events. Completes all mandatory education in TMS and training and competency validation.
• Demonstrates the ability to establish effective working relationships with co-workers, patients support service staff, nursing staff, physicians and other DVAHCS staff. The Chief will display a cooperative attitude and will effectively work together to implement the organization's missions and goals. Follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to patient privacy and HIPAA regulations.
• Completes all medical records in accordance with Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations of the medical staff.
• Collaborates with other departments and sections, including, but not limited to, medical and surgical specialists, primary care providers, nursing staff, social services, utilization management, and other members of the interdisciplinary care team to coordinate care. Coordinates transfer of specialty-specific patients from/to other hospitals or clinics if necessary.
• Develops and maintains good working relationships with other hospital departments and administration.

A offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

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

Telework: Ad-hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• 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.
• 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

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.

Podiatrist Basic Requirements

• Citizenship. Candidates must be a United States citizen. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens, in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)
• Education. Degree as a doctor of podiatric medicine, or its equivalent, from a school of podiatric medicine approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Approved schools are United States schools of podiatric medicine approved by the Council on Podiatry Education of the American Podiatry Association in the year in which the degree was granted. ~AND~
• Residency Training. Completed, or currently completing, residency training, or its equivalent, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. VA Podiatrists 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 Council on Podiatric Medical Education, in the list published for the year the residency was completed, or (2) Other residencies and training experiences, or their equivalents, which the local Professional Standards Board determines to have provided an applicant with appropriate professional training. ~AND~
• Licensure or Registration. Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice Podiatry in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia.
• English Language Proficiency. Podiatrists appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. a7 7402(d), 7407(d).

PODIATRIST STAFF REQUIREMENTS:

Staff Podiatrist Medical.None beyond the basic requirements.

Staff Podiatrist Surgical. Should be board qualified or board certified by a Council on Podiatric Medical Education certification board, or other equivalent certification to grant surgical privileges. Must possess experience to perform duties as a podiatrist and surgeon, and have completed an accredited residency, and/or possess experience to perform general and surgical duties

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

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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/.

Additional information

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

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

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.