Physician (Primary Care)

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.

***This is an open continuous announcement. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager weekly until position is filled.

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

VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System is recruiting for a Physician who specializes in Addiction Medicine/Pain Management and to be the representative for the VA PACT Pain Champions Initiative.

The VA PACT Pain Champions Initiative is a program designed to improve pain care options in primary care. The VA Stepped Care Model for pain care recognizes that many positive approaches to pain can be utilized in the primary care setting to improve medication safety and offer many safe and effective options for pain related to self-care, pain education, cognitive behavioral approaches to pain, physical therapy and movement options as well as whole health approaches that incorporate a biospsychosocial approach to pain.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• The Facility PACT Pain Champion works with the VISN PACT Pain Champion assisting and sharing strong practices and implementation strategies within the VISN.
• Coordinates with the Facility Pain Management, Opioid Safety, and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMOP) Coordinator, Mental Health/Addiction Medicine POC and Facility Pain Committee to deliver clinical and primary care, education and training programs, and other Facility services.
• Works with the VISN PACT Pain Champion and Facility-level partners such as the Facility Pain POC, Facility PMOP Coordinator, Facility Academic Detailing Pharmacist, Suicide Prevention Team, Primary Care/Mental Health Integration, and Mental Health Leaders to support suicide prevention efforts and awareness in Veterans experiencing pain.
• Serves as a liaison for PACT Pain related issues, patient advocacy, Facility-related congressional inquiries, items requiring PACT Pain engagement, and/or information around national initiatives and tools (Stepped Care for Opioid Use Disorder Train-the-Trainer (SCOUTT), opioid safety, Facility pain teams). This role would support the execution of PMOP initiatives within the PC/PACT purview.
• Serves as the Pain and Opioid Safety subject matter expert on PACT case presentations and staff meetings, and local champion participation in VHA and professional association training programs to acquire primary care competencies in pain management.
• Assesses for and diagnoses Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).
• Provides Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) when indicated. (Clinical Pharmacist (CPP) who is authorized to prescribe MOUD may support this function)
• Follows up on positive substance use disorder (SUD) screener to determine treatment plan; liaises with SUD special care as indicated.
• Provides various treatment options including brief interventions such as Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
• Physician able to diagnose opioid use disorder and authorized to prescribe MOUD when indicated.

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
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 to 4:00

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), OR
  (2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), OR
  (3) 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: Expertise to assess, diagnose, and treat opioid use disorders

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

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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, or
2. 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.
3. 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.