Physician Palliative Care Specialist

The Palliative Care Physician is assigned to the Community Living Center (CLC)/Hospice Section of Geriatrics Rehabilitation Extended Care (GREC) Service Mann Grandstaff VAMC. The CLC Staff Physician and Palliative Care Specialist will serve in three main the CLC this physician will work as a team to evaluate and manage the medical care of adults admitted to the CLC for hospice/palliative care. This palliative care specialist will also contribute to and support the growth and development of successful inpatient and outpatient palliative programs which will focus on use of evidence-based practices and with collaboration of the interdisciplinary team to enhance symptom management clarify goals of care and implement strategic care plans to increase utilization and access to quality-of-life services for patients with a serious illness. They will work with the interdisciplinary team to complete palliative or hospice consultations including direct patient care for inpatients and have dedicated time for care and management of outpatient Veterans in the palliative program via face to face and telehealth appointments

Primary Duties:
- Provide in-patient consultation service in palliative care throughout the medical center provide outpatient consultation service in weekly clinic and serve as hospice attending of record for patients receiving hospice care in VA Community Living Center and community hospices if requested.
- Provide hospice care for Community Living Center Hospice patients and serve as clinical subject matter expert support for clinicians caring for patients seeking care focused on comfort within the Community Living Center.
- Provide primary care and Attending oversight for Hospice and Palliative Care (HPC) residents.
- Carry an agreed-upon panel of outpatients in HPC outpatient clinic.
- Serve on various quality assurance and medical staff committees as assigned.
- Screen consults to HPC concerning Veterans from outside hospitals community hospice agencies who may need inpatient hospice care and coordinate with interdisciplinary team

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

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Authorized may be offered to a highly qualified candidate
Permanent Change of Station: Not authorized
Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) Authorized: This position is eligible for 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 your start date. Approval award amount (up to $200000) 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 are ineligible to apply for the program. Contact 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 $1000 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: Full-time Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm. No routine weekend coverage or call expectation with exception of a case by case basis on the rare event of being subject matter expert for hospice and palliative care and patient on complex symptom management plan to support fellow clinicians in acute care and CLC hospice unit.

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 drivers 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 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.

• Board-certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine or Family Medicine. Must also be board-certified or board-eligible in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Only exception would be 10 years or more field experience in bedside hospice and palliative medicine with positive clinical peer references. Must meet all regulatory requirements for Physician per VA Handbook 5005.

• Fellowship training in hospice and palliative medicine or 10 years of clinical experience in hospice and palliative care supported by recent references