Physician - Primary Care

Summary


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


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Duties


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The Central Alabama VA Medical Center-Montgomery is recruiting for a Physician in Primary Care Service for the Dothan 2 VA Clinic. The Physician works as a member of a multi-disciplinary health care team, collaborating with other members of the team to provide Primary Care to Veterans enrolled on the team. The physician is expected to demonstrate advanced competencies and skills in assessing the physical and psychosocial status of patients and family members, play an active role in the multidisciplinary health care team, promote preventive health measures, manage the acute andchronic conditions of his/her assigned panel of patients and those patients assigned to other team members when circumstances require. The Primary Care Physician is accountable to the Outpatient Clinic Chief Medical Officer, Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS)/Ambulatory Care, or designee.


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Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment) Authorized: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Learn more.Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.


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


Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provide comprehensive assessment, diagnostic work-up and clinic intervention, including comprehensive patient assessment, health history, physical examination, and patient education to Veterans in the Primary Care team setting; outpatients include both scheduled and unscheduled Veterans.
• Function as an integral part of a Primary Care multi-disciplinary team to coordinate, facilitate, and provide patient care and services.
• Discriminate between normal and abnormal findings to establish a diagnosis and initiate appropriate response to emergency health problems.
• Initiate appropriate referrals and consultations to other clinical services.
• Order and evaluate diagnostic tests as appropriate, recommend treatment and/or referral.
• Validate the effectiveness of previously implemented medical treatment.
• Initiate, evaluate, and change orders for medications.
• Include patient and family in planning care and establishing realistic measurable goals for health maintenance/improvement.
• Record/document health appraisal information, clinical assessments, treatment decisions, plan of care, ongoing management and therapeutic outcomes, order medications, diagnostic tests and referral consultations where needed for every patient encounter; recording will be accomplished using the electronic comprehensive patient??????? record system (CPRS), and will be completed on the day of the encounter.
• Respond to computerized "alerts" indicating diagnostic test abnormalities and to health line requests from Veterans/family members on the day of receipt (weekends excepted).
• Follow Performance Measure guidelines, including completion of clinical reminders in CPRS.
• Access and timeliness standards; prescription order entry, National VA formulary requirements, and customer service standards.
• Work effectively with patients, families, members of the multi-disciplinary team, and other CAVHCS staff.
• Demonstrates flexibility in responding to clinic demands, adhere to personal and professional obligations and responsibilities, practice and maintain ethical standards, and sustain a work environment that is harmonious and customer service oriented.
• Act as surrogates for the patients of their colleagues when their colleagues are on leave/travel.
• Serve as a resource for nurse practitioners or physician assistants who are also delivering primary care and responds to all staff in the primary care teams regarding patient concerns.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.


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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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 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.

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


Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. However, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.


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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