Physician (Radiologist - Breast Imager)

The VA Atlanta Health Care System is recruiting for a full-time Radiologist - Breast Imager who will work out of both the Atlanta VA and Atlanta VA Clinic locations. The mammography unit is located at the Atlanta VA Clinic and will be transitioning to space in the clinic in the future. The Physician is responsible for developing and overseeing radiology policies, procedures, and quality improvement for mammography.

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): 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. Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@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 24 hours 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:

• Works independently under the Chief of Radiology Service and/or the Chief of Staff as the LIP for the facilities mammography program.
• Responsible for direct oversight or the facility's initial/3-year ACR Accreditation and annual FDA/MQSA inspection to include documentation and closure any corrective action plans.
• Oversees the Atlanta VA on-site mammography program daily operations, compliance, and safety.
• Develops and assists in implementation of mammography Quality Assurance (QA) / Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives, including technical and professional guidelines and standards.
• Ensures that the quality assurance program, including personnel assignments, all equipment quality control tests, records, and corrective actions, the annual physicist's survey, and medical audit and outcomes analysis, meet the required standards 21 C.F.R. Part 900., as well as VHA policy.
• Ensures that the individuals assigned to quality assurance tasks are qualified to perform these tasks and that their performance is adequate.
• Reviews and discusses the medical audit results with all interpreting physicians and/or assign this task to another interpreting physician (the audit interpreting physician). For facilities with only one interpreting physician, that staff member will assume lead interpreting physician role.
• Collaborates with Section Chief of Radiology to collect, review, monitor, analyze, and report mammography data and metrics.
• Recommends performance measures, as appropriate.
• Disseminates radiology mammography imaging policies, procedures, best practices, and protocols.
• Maintains Atlanta VA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Handbooks, and Information Letters regarding mammography imaging.
• Consults with VISN 07 Diagnostic Integrated Clinical Community (ICC) clinical lead to assure overall quality of mammography programs.
• Develops recommendations with other stakeholders in the selection and deployment of mammography management systems and data registries.
• Makes recommendations to the Chief of Radiology and Chief of Staff regarding radiology aspects of the Atlanta VA mammography program.
• Designates a Lead Medical Quality Control Technologist who meets the mammography technologist requirements, and who is responsible for those QA responsibilities not assigned to the Lead IP or to the medical physicist.
• Maintains close association with professional organizations and provider groups in affiliated institutions, as well as other public and private organizations concerned with breast imaging.
• Leads and/or participates on various workgroups, committees, and advisory groups as assigned by the Atlanta VA Section Chief of Radiology or Chief of Therapeutics and Diagnostic Imaging.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (subject to change based on the needs of the organization)

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 or Board Eligible Radiologist. Fellowship-trained mammographer/breast radiologist who is FDA MQSA qualified to interpret mammography

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

Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

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.