Chief of Surgery (MD/DO)

Summary

Education and length of practice are considered through a formal pay-setting process to determine the final compensable salary (Base Pay + Market Pay).

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Duties

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The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development department is dedicated to building a prosperous future by attracting new businesses, expanding existing ones, and fostering an environment where innovation thrives. Our 2025 Strategic Priorities focus on targeted economic development, manufacturing growth, and positioning Montgomery as a leading logistics and technology hub in the Southeast.

The Montgomery area is a balance between production and service economies with major interstates in all directions; public, private and military institutions of higher learning; and a proud heritage to showcase.

The warm Southern hospitality, high quality of life and low cost of living make Montgomery a wonderful place to put down roots and raise a family. Montgomery offers everything expected in a big city - from world-class arts and theater to state-of-the-art health care and vibrant retail - all with the small-town warmth seldom found in a city of this size.

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

Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

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

The Chief of Surgery is responsible for the overall operation and supervision of a broad range of surgical services to include the following specialty services: General Surgery, Urology, Podiatry, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology and Anesthesia. These surgical services provide quality improvement, maintenance of reusable medical equipment, and the provision of excellent inpatient and outpatient care. The Chief of Surgery insures national, network, and local missions, values, vision, and performance measures are supported and met, provides efficient management of resources and budgetary constraints, facilities a collaborative team environment, develops orientation and training of pertinent clinical staff under the service, and proactively identifies needs and concerns concerning the service.

The Chief of Surgery reports to facility's Deputy Chief of Staff and is a member of the Medical Executive Council. The incumbent should have administrative experience in outpatient surgical clinic, acute surgical inpatient unit, ICU, and operating room. The Chief of Surgery must have expensive experience with coordinating operating room schedules and facilitating the daily surgery schedule. The Chief of Surgery oversees and coordinates all surgical services for operating room, endoscopy suite, and PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit).

The Chief of Surgery is responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with medical and surgical diseases, accomplished through ambulatory and bed-based resources assigned to the Surgical and Specialty care service. They actively participate in patient care by conducting patient clinics and operative procedures, through hospital rounds, morning reports, conferences, consultations, participation in ambulatory care and other similar activities.

The Chief of Surgery represents the service on important medical center committees with influence on patient care, teaching, and closely monitors all other committees on which surgery and specialty care service has representation. The Chief of Surgical Services is responsible for recruiting qualified physicians to perform comprehensive and specialized surgical patient care and teaching. The Chief of Surgical Services maintains an active role actively in the multifaceted Peer Review Committee (PRC) and by facilitating any outside surgical peer reviews requested through the risk manager.

The Chief of Surgery plays a pivotal interactive role with quality/outcome measurement systems that are in place as integrated improvement tools. They assure that data collection is accurate and verified and that the returned aggregated data elements are communicated to the appropriate process owners and providers.

Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm - some occasions may require work outside of this core schedule as this is a 24/7 hospital facility.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• 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 ( 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.

Qualifications

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:

Must have attained additional recognition in clinical, administrative, or research areas. Such recognition may be demonstrated by:

• 1. Certification by an American Specialty Board, or
• 2. Significant accomplishments in clinical practice, educational activities, research, or administration which clearly distinguish the physician as having the highest professional qualifications in the specialty area to which assigned, such as: a. Past or present faculty appointment at the professional level in an approved medical school, or b. Completion of an accredited residency in the primary specialty area or in a related area to which the individual will be assigned and unusual professional accomplishment such as: (1) Publication of articles in nationally recognized professional journals, or (2) Officer in a State or National professional medical organization, or (3) Directorship of a hospital or large clinic.
• 3. Management and academic experience that would qualify the applicant for an assistant professor appointment at a medical school.
• 4. Post graduate VA experience in a Surgical Service.
• 5. Administrative / Leadership / Supervisory Experience.
• 6. Able to be obtain surgical privileges.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing; clear, distinctive speech; and manual dexterity. The position requires potentially long periods of continued sitting, telephone and computer usage, walking, standing, stooping, bending, pulling and pushing. Transferring of equipment/objects may be required.

Education

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.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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