Open to current VISN 6 employees only. The Pulmonary Section Chief provides oversight of the Pulmonary Section activities at the Durham VA Medical Center and Greenville CBOC locations, including Respiratory Care Services.
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 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 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), 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. 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 or fee-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. Proficiency in spoken and written English. Additional Requirement: Preferred Experience: Board Certification in Pulmonary or Critical Care Medicine. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires mostly periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Transferring patients and objects may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients/residents who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on stakeholder needs.
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: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - rotating nights, weekends and holidays. Duties: The Medical Service Mission is to lead satisfied staff dedicated to providing high quality patient centered care here at Durham VA Health Care System, an excellent tertiary training and research Veteran's Hospital. The Pulmonary Section Chief is a management position that supports this mission through administrative leadership, direct patient care, and oversight of their Section's educational and research activities. The Section Chief must be appointed on at least a part time basis (minimum service of 5/8 time). The physician must qualify for a Faculty appointment at Duke University. On appointment, the Section Chief will complete VA Supervisor Training within 3 months of first day of employment with their performance assessed by the Executive Career Field (ECF) Performance Appraisal Program. Leadership responsibilities: organizing staff meetings, communication both down to staff and up to leadership, to include heads up (for acute patient related outcomes) and issue briefs, acting as Service Chief when the Service Chief is on leave The Section Chief works with the Service Chief and Administrative Officers to analyze data, prepare reports, and plan for improvement from a variety of VA reports such as the Strategic Analysis and Information Learning (SAIL report), Specialty Productivity Access Report and Quadrant Tool (SPARQ), Press Ganey surveys, Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), Joint Commission ORYX® measures, and other performance measures created by VA. Staff Management: routine ratings of all staff, including yearly proficiency reports on all faculty. Business Planning: work with Medical Service office on Decision Support System (DSS) mapping, hiring needs, capacity analysis, workloads, resource needs (equipment, information technology, supplies, space, logistics) Clinical Management including indirect patient care: open encounter and open consult management, CPRS documentation requirements, oversight of clinic scheduling and access, ensuring staff productivity, and oversight of relevant performance measures. Oversight of interventional pulmonary program including routine and special bronchoscopy procedures (ultrasound guided diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis, chest tubes including tunneled catheters, diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy, including endobronchial ultrasound and rigid bronchoscopy, bedside tracheostomy, etc.), working in concert with and overseeing the activities of the Director of Interventional Pulmonary Procedures. Oversight of Lung Cancer Screening program. Oversee and work closely with the Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Director of Inpatient Officer of the Day Program to supervise critical care services for MICU and off tour coverage for Medical, Cardiac, and Surgical ICUs. Supervision and oversight of Respiratory Care Services. Work closely with the Technical Director of Respiratory Care to oversee inpatient and outpatient RCS for the Durham VA Medical Center. Supervise Pulmonary Function Testing and Home Oxygen clinics at DVAMC and Greenville CBOC, and work closely with Prosthetics on clinical implementation of the VISN 6 Home Oxygen Contract for the DVAMC and all associated CBOCs. Oversee management of patients on home respiratory support, including non-invasive ventilation and invasive mechanical ventilation, through the Home Respiratory Care Team. Coordinate with Pharmacy on formulary changes and restricted drug requests affecting patients with pulmonary diseases. Patient Care: Practitioners are expected to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, treatment of disease, and care at the end of life. The Section Chief will participate in the clinical care provided by the outpatient Pulmonary specialty clinics, inpatient Pulmonary consultative service, and pulmonary procedures.