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.

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized for a highly qualified candidate.
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact visn7edrpfacilitycoordinators2@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 include, but are not limited to:

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Physician's primary responsibility is to provide primary care services for a panel of 1250 patients. Physician will perform exams according to performance measure guidelines and procedures and dictate/type notes according to policy/procedure. Physician reports directly to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), the Regional Director (RD), and Service Line Manager. Other duties may include screening outpatient to determine need for further care, evaluating unscheduled patients under the physician's care, ordering diagnostic studies, carrying out health promotion and disease prevention activities, initiating and expediting requests for consultations and scheduling special tests and studies. All providers are expected to include women's health, inclusive of appropriate preventive and wellness assessments, as a component of comprehensive primary care.
• Physician may be on rotation to do extended hours once per month or less.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the primary care team, established by the primary care service line manager.
• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs in order to effectively coordinate service.
• Complies with national and local performance measures, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders and encounters for all patients.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check out procedures) e.g. entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
• Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Service Line Manager (or designee) and facility Director.
• Attends regular Service Line Staff meetings, Clinic Team meetings and complies with Primary Care Service Line peer review procedures.
• Works effectively with team members to facilitate care including timely completion of medical forms, caring responses to patient complaints and other administrative duties.
• Maintains current BLS certification and performs completion of mandatory educational classes.

Other Significant Responsibilities:

• Academic/Teaching/Training opportunities are available at several clinics with residents and/or medical students.
• Participation in Peer Review process

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Schedule is subject to change based on agency need.

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
  (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: Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. At least one year of Primary Care experience, including the full scope of Women's Primary Care.

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

Physical Requirements: The population of male and female Veterans served ranges from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. Atlanta VAMC is a major interdisciplinary teaching facility service medical, surgical, and neurological inpatients and outpatients. There is a large outpatient psychiatric population, with visits to the emergency department and admission for medical co-morbidities. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position may require potentially extended periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to wear protective clothing in isolation situation. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situation, able to shift priorities based on patient's needs.

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.