Staff Physician (Thoracic Surgeon) - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive Authorized

The Amarillo Veterans Health Care System is seeking a qualified Physician for the Full Time Thoracic Surgeon position. Please see announcement CAZM-12821285-26-IA (VIN 12821285) if interested in Part-Time position.

Thoracic surgery involves the diagnosis and treatment of condition, injuries and diseases that affect the organs in the thorax or chest. Specialists in this field care for patients with a wide range of thoracic diseases such as occupational and environmental lung disease, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, benign and malignant tumor of the lungs, chest wall, esophagus, stomach and mediastinal contents, malfunction of the esophagus, abnormalities of the heart and great vessels, and diaphragmatic hernia.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations,
• Providing and coordinating medical care for assigned patients in any care setting, including establishing diagnoses, formulating and implementing care plans, and providing follow-up care,
• Ordering diagnostic studies and other special tests, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, etc.,
• Carrying out health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education activities,
• Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens,
• Ordering ancillary services, such as, pharmacy, social services, physical medicine and rehabilitation therapies, prosthetic services, etc.,
• Ordering VA specialty service consults and initiate requests for non-VA medical care and consults in accordance with VHA and local facility policy and procedures,
• Ordering patient care supplies,
• Writing orders for or prescribing medications,
• Admitting and discharging patients,
• Obtaining admission history and performing physical examinations,
• Conducting patient rounds, documenting progress notes and summaries in the patient record, and writing patient orders on assigned patients,
• Obtaining and documenting informed consent for treatments and procedures, etc.

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: May be authorized for highly qualified individual(s)
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
Work Schedule: Full-Time, TBD (Typically 0800-1630 CST, M-F)

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

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.
• Language Proficiency: Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Education: 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.
• Licensure: 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.

Residency Note: 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.

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

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.

• 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.
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• 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).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Physical Requirements: The position requires moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds), straight pulling (1 hour), pulling hand over hand (1 hour), pushing (1 hour), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking (4-6 hours), standing (4-6 hours), repeated bending (1 hour), near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, both eyes required, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to distinguish shades of colors.