ENT Physician (Otolaryngology Physician)

Otolaryngology Physician

The Otolaryngology Physician provides physician-level specialty evaluation, diagnosis, treatment planning, procedural care, surgical referral coordination, and follow-up for patients with ear, nose, throat, sinus, hearing, airway, voice, swallowing, sleep-related breathing, and head and neck concerns. This role supports expanded local access to ENT services, improved referral triage, coordination with audiology, and reduced external specialty burden when services can be safely provided or coordinated through Oyate Health Center.

The position emphasizes culturally grounded specialty care, diagnostic coordination, minor procedures within approved privileges, chronic condition management, and collaboration with primary care, audiology, referrals, PRC, imaging, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, and external surgical partners.

Essential Function

The following functions are fundamental to the position and are required of all incumbents, with or without reasonable accommodation. These functions define the role and are not an exhaustive list of all duties.

• Provides physician-level ENT assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, procedural care, and follow-up for patients with ear, nose, throat, sinus, head and neck, voice, swallowing, hearing, dizziness, and sleep-related breathing concerns.
• Evaluates and manages conditions including recurrent ear infections, chronic otitis media, hearing loss concerns, tinnitus, dizziness, chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, nasal obstruction, epistaxis, tonsil and adenoid concerns, hoarseness, throat pain, dysphagia concerns, sleep apnea screening needs, and selected head and neck findings.
• Coordinates closely with audiology for hearing evaluation, tympanometry, audiograms, vestibular concerns, pediatric hearing concerns, hearing aid pathways, and follow-up planning.
• Performs ENT procedures within approved privileges and facility resources, which may include cerumen removal, nasal cautery, flexible laryngoscopy, biopsy, abscess drainage, lesion evaluation, or other approved procedures.
• Orders, reviews, interprets, and follows up on appropriate diagnostic studies, including audiology testing, imaging, laboratory testing, sleep-related screening referrals, pathology reports, and other specialty testing.
• Determines when patients require advanced imaging, biopsy, surgical intervention, oncology evaluation, sleep medicine referral, emergency care, or external ENT surgical services.
• Identifies urgent or emergent ENT concerns, including airway compromise, severe infection, facial trauma, sudden hearing loss, severe epistaxis, suspected malignancy, deep neck infection concern, or other high-risk presentations, and initiates appropriate escalation, transfer, or consultation processes.
• Develops evidence-informed care plans including medications, conservative management, procedural planning, surgical referral planning, follow-up intervals, and patient education.
• Supports pre-operative and post-operative coordination when patients require external ENT surgical services.
• Provides education to patients and families regarding ENT conditions, warning signs, treatment plans, medication use, procedure preparation, hearing care, sleep apnea screening, sinus care, and follow-up needs.
• Collaborates with primary care, audiology, nursing, referrals, PRC, pharmacy, imaging, dental, behavioral health, care management, and external specialty or surgical partners.
• Supports development of ENT workflows, including referral criteria, audiology coordination, minor procedure pathways, diagnostic follow-up processes, urgent referral guidance, and external surgical referral coordination.
• Participates in clinical quality, patient safety, access improvement, utilization review, and specialty service development initiatives related to ENT care.
• Maintains accurate, timely, and complete documentation in the EHR in accordance with clinical, payer, regulatory, quality, coding, billing, credentialing, and organizational standards.
• Must comply with federal laws and regulations as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
• Maintains regular and reliable attendance consistent with the positions schedule and operational needs.
• Communicates effectively with internal and external stakeholders as required by the role.
• Adheres to all applicable policies, procedures, clinical protocols, credentialing requirements, privileging standards, payer requirements, and regulatory requirements.
• Utilizes required systems, tools, and technology necessary to perform the job.
• Other duties as assigned.

Clinical provider responsibilities must be performed within licensure, credentialing, privileging, collaborative practice requirements, and applicable federal, state, tribal, and organizational standards.

Physical Requirements

• Exemplify excellent customer service with tribal stakeholders, health board colleagues, program partners, service recipients, visitors and guests.
• Foster a work environment of wellness, courtesy, friendliness, helpfulness and respect.
• Relate well and work collaboratively with coworkers and all levels of staff in a professional manner.
• Familiarity and/or experience working with American Indian populations and respect for and knowledge of traditional, cultural and spiritual practices of diverse American Indian communities, as well as an ability to work with other culturally and ethnically diverse populations.
• Consistently demonstrate respect for and acceptance of differing capabilities, cultures, gender, age, sexual orientation and/or personalities.
• Maintain and ensure organizational privacy and confidentiality.
• Must be able to handle crisis and tolerate stress professionally.
• Must be self-directed and take proactive initiative to assist others.
• Possess the ability to resolve issues with other departments and coworkers without direct supervision.
• Able to exercise flexibility to alter plans/routines when situations require and continue to perform without projecting stress/frustration that would adversely affect the work environment.
• Ability to maintain a flexible work schedule, including evenings, weekends and overnight or extended travel as necessary.
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to community members, consumers and other employees of the organization.
• Proficiency with computer programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and other Internet technologies.
• Valid driver's license must be kept current, and certificates, credentials or licenses must be kept current and consistent with regulations required by applicable federal, state and/or grant regulations.
• Ability to promote an alcohol-, tobacco- and drug-free lifestyle.
• Embrace modes of appearance and attire that reflect a professional presence.
• Adhere to GPTLHB policies and procedures.
• Clinic-based setting with direct patient care, extensive EHR use, patient communication, diagnostic follow-up, and coordination with internal and external specialty care partners. Reasonable accommodations may be made.

Required Qualifications

Education/Experience/Certificates/Credentials

• Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, MBBS, or equivalent medical degree from an accredited medical school required.
• Completion of accredited residency training in Otolaryngology required.
• Board certification or board eligibility in Otolaryngology required.
• Current, unrestricted physician license or eligibility for licensure in South Dakota required.
• Current DEA registration and prescriptive authority required or must be obtained within organizational timelines.
• Current BLS certification required.
• Experience evaluating and managing adult and pediatric ENT conditions required.
• Experience with ENT procedures, audiology coordination, sleep apnea screening pathways, diagnostic follow-up, surgical referral coordination, and interdisciplinary care preferred.
• Experience with EHR documentation, care coordination, referral management, quality improvement, and patient education required.
• Experience in Tribal health, IHS, rural health, underserved communities, or 638 facilities preferred.
• Must successfully pass a criminal background check, credentialing review, privileging process, provider enrollment requirements, and pre-employment drug screen.

The GPTCHB is a tribal organization which follows tribal preference laws. It is our policy to give preference to qualified Indian/Tribal candidates over qualified non-native candidates in hiring decisions, if all other qualifications are equal. Employment is contingent upon the outcome of all required criminal background checks.

Compliance with our Employee Health Procedure is a condition of employment. You are required to agree that you will comply with all job-related employee health screening and immunizations prior to your first day of employment. Jobs require that you have documentation that you have completed the following immunizations prior to your first day of employment: MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella, Varicella (Chicken Pox), Hepatitis B, Influenza, T-dap (Tetanus - Diphtheria - Pertussis), and COVID-19 vaccination is required.