Family Practice - Geriatrics Physician

Job Description

Join our Team at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA as a Physician - Community Living Center Medical Director!

The Extended Care and Palliative Medicine Service (EC&PMS) Community Living Center (CLC) Medical Director provides clinical leadership through direction and coordination of medical care for CLC residents across VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (VAPAHCS).

Major duties include but are not limited to:

Supervisory Duties:

• Provides direct supervision and administrative oversight of assigned CLC physicians, advanced practice providers, and other clinical staff.
• Plans, assigns, directs, and reviews the work of assigned providers based on clinical priorities, workload, staffing needs, and program requirements.
• Establishes performance expectations and ensures assigned staff understand duties, responsibilities, clinical standards, productivity expectations, and service priorities.
• Completes performance plans, progress reviews, annual evaluations, competency reviews, and other supervisory documentation.
• Identifies performance or conduct concerns and works with GECS leadership, Human Resources, and other appropriate offices.
• Reviews and approves leave requests, clinic coverage, provider schedules, and workload assignments.
• Participates in recruitment, interviewing, selection recommendations, onboarding, credentialing, privileging, and orientation of CLC medical providers.

Clinical Duties:

• Provides clinical leadership and oversight for medical care delivered to CLC residents.
• Ensures CLC medical care is timely, appropriate, Veteran-centered, evidence-based, and consistent with VA standards.
• Provides direct patient care as assigned and as needed to support CLC clinical operations.
• Oversees the clinical management of Veterans with complex geriatric, rehabilitative, long-term care, skilled nursing, respite, dementia, chronic disease, and palliative care needs.
• Coordinates medical care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, including nursing, rehabilitation, social work, pharmacy, psychology, and other clinical services.
• Promotes safe and appropriate medication management, including monitoring of psychotropic medication use, high-risk medications, polypharmacy, pain management, and deprescribing efforts when clinically indicated.
• Accepts on call coverage responsibilities as scheduled.

Administrative and Program Management Duties:

• Provides administrative leadership for CLC medical provider operations.
• Represents the CLC and Geriatrics and Extended Care Service on facility committees, workgroups, regulatory readiness activities, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Reviews clinical outcomes, quality indicators, resident safety data, performance measures, workload reports, and operational dashboards related to CLC care.

Education and Training:

• Participates in CLC-related educational activities, in-services, case conferences, interdisciplinary training, and staff development activities.
• Supports education related to geriatric care, long-term care, rehabilitation, dementia care, palliative care, serious illness communication, safe prescribing, resident rights, quality improvement, and regulatory readiness.
• May participate in academic, teaching, faculty, or trainee supervision responsibilities in collaboration with affiliated institutions, as appropriate.

Research and Quality Improvement:

• Participates in quality improvement, systems redesign, and performance improvement projects related to CLC operations and resident care.
• May participate in research, scholarly work, or program evaluation activities when appropriate and approved.

Benefits and Features

• Expected Salary range from $315K to $335K (negotiable based on candidate's qualifications, credentials and experience).
• Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized.
• Work Schedule: Full-time. Schedule will be determined by supervisor.
• 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.

We encourage you to consider VA employment in Palo Alto, CA. We offer both a mission you can put your heart into and a home for fun, new experiences. Join a team that values a healthy home/work life balance and be rewarded by your role in keeping the promise to those who served.