Podiatrist - Chief Medical Officer, Kerrville VA with EDRP & Recruitment/Relocation Incentive

Summary

This position is eligible for 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 South Texas VA Health Care System is seeking a Chief Medical Officer in Kerrville, Texas. This is an Open Continuous Announcement & will remain open until September 30, 2026, or until all positions are filled . The first cut-off date is May 25,2026 . Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Applicants will remain active for 3 months after their initial application is received and/or updated. After that time, you must update your application through your USAJobs account if you would like to be made active again for possible consideration during the open period.

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

• The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is responsible for the direct management and oversite of clinical and administrative operations within the Kerrville Medical Center, located in Kerrville, TX. This medical center provides primary care and specialty health services, including mental health care, geriatric evaluation, foot care, dental services, kidney care and dialysis, urology, palliative care and hospice, laboratory services. The CMO reports directly to the Chief of Staff. The role includes the monitoring, review and assignment of healthcare providers' workload, clinical effectiveness and efficiency and responsibility for clinical performance measures. He/She works closely with other clinical leaders within the organization to ensure optimization of resources, and delivery of effective and efficient patient care. Additionally, his/her participation in administrative, management, quality assurance, and other activities, meetings, or committees as necessary or assigned. This position requires a minimum of 10% direct patient care which may vary depending on the needs of the organization. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Assures that each patient presenting for care at the clinic receives quality care within the limits and resources of the clinic, obtaining referral to other VA facility or VA community care if resources are not available.
• Participates in direct patient care and serves as a role model for peers.
• Ensures that staffing space equipment and materials and systems and support services are utilized appropriately to meet the needs of patient served.
• Ensures that patients receive care in a safe and therapeutic environment.
• Ensures that the care of each patient in the clinic is the responsibility of a qualified and appropriately privileged staff clinician.
• Works cooperatively with other service lines to coordinate care and transfer of care to other facilities when needed.
• Responsible for enforcement of applicable Medical Center policies rules regulations and Medical Staff Bylaws.
• Responsible for meeting the performance improvement requirements of the Joint Commission, other accrediting agencies and the Department of Veteran Affairs encompassing the information for directing, educating, and involving all staff in these areas in the performance improvement process.
• Building relationships with community leaders to better understand and address challenges.
• Ability to admit, perform history and physical examinations, work-up, diagnose, prepare treatment plans for adult patients, age = 18 years to treat various common and complex illnesses, diseases and functional disorders of the circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, metabolic, musculoskeletal, hematopoietic, gastroenteric, and genitourinary systems.

Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday; 8-4:30pm

Telework: Available; Ad-hoc and determined by Agency policy.

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 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.

Additional Requirement: Board certification- by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine within 4 years of initial appointment or meets equivalent education, training and experience requirements, and maintenance thereafter.

Preferred Experience:

• Planning, developing, and directing all administrative and clinical functions of a clinical service.
• Experience ensuring high quality, efficient, timely and appropriate care with the highest professional and ethical standards and quality of care.
• Experience serving on committees, participation in quality assurance programs and meeting performance measures.
• Experience with graduate and undergraduate medical education.
• Experience driving a culture of improvement.
• Experience developing teams towards a shared goals.

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

Physical Requirements: The position requires light lifting and carrying under 15 pounds), hearing (aid permitted), ability to perform privileges, mental and emotional stability, ability to independently perform physical exam as appropriate to position.

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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