Physician (Non-Invasive Cardiology)

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.

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Duties

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be approved for highly qualified candidate

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

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact raja.kadeem@va.gov, 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 $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

Duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Provide Cardiology care for inpatients and outpatients at the facility and select Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).
• Diagnose, treat, and manage patients with cardiac diseases according to standard, usual, and acceptable methods and techniques within their approved privileges at all times.
• Deliver interventions throughout the full spectrum of Cardiology care, i.e. expected to maintain good diagnostic and therapeutic acumen.
• Develop strong, collegial working relationships with leaders within the medical center (both clinical and administrative).
• Oversee the development and implementation of systems redesigns projects, quality improvements and assurance programs of inpatient services.
• Champion initiatives designed to improve overall quality through the use of evidence-based medicine and peer review.
• Participate in clinical review processes such as tort claims, peer reviews, management reviews and administrative activities.
• Perform full general cardiology examinations on established or newly consulted patients, including electronic consultations ( e-Consults) in the Cardiology clinics, inpatient wards or Urgent Care Department for signs or symptoms of cardiac disease.
• Ensure communication with the hospitalists regarding inpatients and/or potential admissions.
• Perform Compensation and Pension exams and/or Tort Claim reviews.
• Interpret echocardiograms (including stress, dobutamine and transesophageal echocardiograms), holter monitor studies, event recorder studies, and electrocardiograms (EKGs).
• Certified in Nuclear Cardiology.
• Supervise and interpret exercise stress tests.
• Complete history and physical exams within 24 hours of admission.
• Input progress/consult notes for inpatient and outpatient encounters within prescribed timelines.
• Involved as a leader in the organization's continued accreditation readiness activities.
• Foster a culture of transparency, communication, collegiality and patient centered interdisciplinary teamwork.
• Use astute business acumen to optimally utilize resources and adapt to changes, exercising leadership and flexibility.
• Maintain current medical knowledge and technical skills.
• Provide leadership and documentation within the Cardio/Respiratory Service that all staff are competent with respect to current privileging.
• Maintain excellent diagnostic, judgmental, and therapeutic acumen in the care of all veterans.
• Recognize the need and modifies care as necessitated by patient's age and abilities.
• Ability to provide accurate and understandable instructions to patients.
• Understand the importance and is compliant with participating in patient identification and time-out processes.
• Ability to recognize patient signs of physical distress and monitor the patient's condition.
• Knowledge of computerized patient records systems, and their application to Cardiology patients, to include approved abbreviations and the format for completion of progress notes.
• Compliance with maintaining patient confidentiality per HIPAA regulations relative to both written and verbal patient information.
• Compliance with VHA cyber-security policies and directives.
  
  

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; Compressed tour may be available for highly qualified candidate

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Requirements

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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• 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).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
  
  

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
• 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.
  
  

Preferred Experience: Five (5) years of experience as a Cardiologist



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



Physical Requirements:

Functional Requirements

• Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds
• Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Walking (1 hour)
• Standing (4 hours)
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously
• Ability to distinguish basic colors
• Hearing (aid may be permitted)
• Emotional/Mental Stability
  
  

Environmental Factors

• Radiant energy
• Electrical energy
• Slippery or uneven walking surfaces
• Working with hands in water
• Working closely with others
• Working alone
• Protracted or irregular hours of work
  
  

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:

• Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
• 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.
• 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.]
  
  
  
  

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.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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Alexandria VA Medical Center

2495 Shreveport Highway

Pineville, LA 71360

US