Physician - Orthopedic Surgery - EDRP Eligible

Summary

The Orthopedic Physician/Orthopedic Surgeon provides comprehensive orthopedic care to Veterans in an outpatient, inpatient, procedural, and/or surgical setting as assigned at St. Cloud VA Medical Center.

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

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Duties

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FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES:

The Orthopedic Physician/Orthopedic Surgeon provides direct clinical care and performs duties that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Examines, evaluates, diagnoses, and treats Veterans with orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions, injuries, deformities, disorders, and functional limitations.
• Provides outpatient orthopedic care, including new patient evaluations, follow-up appointments, preoperative assessments, post-operative evaluations, and ongoing management of orthopedic conditions. Reviews and documents patient histories, physical examination findings, diagnostic studies, treatment plans, informed consent discussions, procedures, operative findings, follow-up needs, and clinical outcomes.
• Reviews and documents patient histories, physical examination findings, diagnostic studies, treatment plans, informed consent discussions, procedures, operative findings, follow-up needs, and clinical outcomes.
• Orders, reviews, and interprets diagnostic studies within the scope of practice, including radiographs, advanced imaging, laboratory testing, electrodiagnostic studies, and other clinically indicated evaluations.
• Develops, implements, and modifies patient-centered treatment plans based on clinical assessment, diagnostic findings, patient goals, evidence-based standards, and available treatment options.
• Provides non-operative orthopedic management, including medication management, bracing, casting, splinting, injections, activity modification, therapy referrals, assistive devices, and other conservative treatment modalities as clinically indicated.
• Performs orthopedic procedures and surgeries within the scope of licensure, clinical privileges, and facility capability.
• Provides surgical care for appropriate orthopedic conditions, which may include degenerative joint disease, fractures, tendon or ligament injuries, joint disorders, arthritis-related conditions, soft tissue injuries, and other musculoskeletal conditions based on granted privileges and facility needs.
• Explains diagnoses, treatment options, surgical and non-surgical alternatives, expected outcomes, risks, benefits, and potential complications to patients and caregivers in a clear and understandable manner.
• Provides post-operative care, including follow-up assessment, wound evaluation, review of recovery progress, management of complications, activity restrictions, therapy planning, and coordination of return-to-function goals.
• Manages orthopedic consults, return-to-clinic orders, surgical requests, procedural scheduling needs, and follow-up care in a timely and clinically appropriate manner.
• Performs administrative duties related to patient care management, including completion of progress notes, histories and physicals, operative reports, discharge summaries, consult responses, encounter forms, orders, and other required documentation.
• Works collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team, including nursing, anesthesia, surgical providers, podiatry, mid-level providers, therapists, prosthetics and orthotics, and medical support staff to ensure prompt, coordinated, and efficient delivery of care.

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

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) Authorized: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program, based on the area of specialty of the selected candidate. 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 are ineligible to apply. Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more.

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

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

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.
• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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 allopathic 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 accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR
  • (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR
  • (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), 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.
  • Exceptions:
    
    
    • 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 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.
    • In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience: Board Certified/Board Eligible in Orthopedic Surgery

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

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring periods of standing, walking, bending, reaching, sitting, and use of hands for fine motor clinical tasks. The incumbent may be required to assist with patient positioning, perform examinations and procedures, and work in clinical environments where prolonged standing or repetitive hand movements may occur. The position requires visual acuity, manual dexterity, hearing, speech, and cognitive ability sufficient to perform clinical assessments, procedures, documentation, and patient communication. The incumbent must be physically and mentally able to perform the essential functions of the position efficiently, with or without reasonable accommodation, and without hazard to self or others.

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.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year 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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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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