Physician (Hospitalist)

Summary

We are seeking a Hospitalist (Board Certified in Internal Medicine) to join our team in Columbia, MO. At the VA, your work will carry purpose as you provide care to Veterans while enjoying strong federal benefits and stability.

This is an open-continuous announcement and will remain open until June 21, 2027, or when vacancies are filled (if a selection is made, announcement will be closed). Qualified applicants will be referred, as they are available from the opening date of the announcement.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Why Choose Harry S. Truman VAMC?

• State-of-the-Art Facilities: Work in a modern medical center equipped with cutting-edge technology and resources, ensuring you have the tools needed to provide the best care.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy a balanced lifestyle with competitive salaries, generous benefits, and ample opportunities for professional development and continuing education. Columbia is a vibrant city with a rich cultural scene, excellent schools, and outdoor recreational activities.
• Supportive Community: Be a part of a community that values and supports its veterans. Columbia is known for its welcoming atmosphere, diverse population, and strong sense of community.

Activities:

• Columbia is the site of internationally renowned "Roots N Blues N BBQ" annual music festival, the "True False" documentary film festival, and also hosts numerous arts, theater, and music events throughout the year.
• Top collegiate sporting events average 25 per month, with easy access to professional sports in nearby St Louis and Kansas City.
• Centralized location offers quick access to St. Louis and Kansas City, the State Capitol, Jefferson City, and the beautiful vacation getaway, Lake of the Ozarks.
• Columbia is also ranked by Niche.com as #25 best city to live in America, #28 best city to buy a house, and #24 best city to raise a family.
• Columbia is also minutes away from historic towns and state parks featuring boating, fishing, hiking, biking and more.

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): 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

Work Schedule: 6AM-6PM

Hospitalist - Scope of Duties

The duties and responsibilities of the Hospitalist include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide general Internal Medicine care of inpatient services in keeping with good clinical practice and standards of the Hospitalist Section and Medicine Service at the Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital
• Participation in educational activities related to the Internal Medicine residency program.
• Collaboration with the physician extenders and nursing care providers throughout the hospital.
• Be a resource for Primary Care providers ensuring a smooth transition of patients from inpatient to outpatient settings.
• Provide expertise in multispecialty and patient care-related discussions.
• Provide inpatient General Internal Medicine consultation services to non-medicine teams, including direct supervision and education of medical consultation house staff.
• Provide inpatient Internal Medicine attending services including clinical procedures within your specialty area of expertise on the general medicine teams
• You will be expected to serve on committees as requested by the Medical Center Director, Chief of Staff, or Deputy Chief of Staff.
• You will be expected to follow the Medical Staff bylaws and will complete all medical records timely through CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System) in accordance with VA Policies and Regulations.
• All attending physicians are expected to participate in ongoing process improvements within their specific areas of expertise thereby promoting quality, efficiency, patient safety, and timely access to care for our Veteran patients.
• Will participate in inter-hospital transfers of patients as needed.
• Responsible for the provision of medical diagnostic evaluation and initial assessment of patients to include a minimum of focused history, physical examinations, and pertinent laboratory investigations.
• Responsible for the evaluation of all new admissions to the medicine team with completion of an admission History and Physical (H&P), or completion of the short-form admission note as appropriate.
• Perform, at a minimum, basic procedures expected of any board-eligible Internist. This includes lumbar puncture, thoracentesis, and paracentesis.
• Supervise any residents, students, fellows, or teams assigned to their areas of responsibility.
• Other related duties as assigned, or as prescribed by the Chief of Staff.

Requirements

Help

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 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: Must be board certified in internal medicine; if recent graduate, must be board eligible with intent to become board certified within one year of hiring date?

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

Physical Requirements: This position requires a pre-employment physical. Requires lifting 15-44 pounds; pushing (approx. 2 hours); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers and both hands; walking and standing from 3-5 hours and kneeling. Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4. Far visions correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other. Must have depth perception and ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors. Hearing aid is permitted.

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.