Physician Assistant (Primary Care)

The Primary Care Physician Assistant must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served by the Central Texas Veterans Health Care Center. The individual must demonstrate the knowledge of the changes associated with aging and possess the ability to provide care based upon physical psycho/social cultural safety and other age-related factors as noted in the competencies described in departmental and/or unit specific policies and procedures.

The Physician Assistant practices general medicine with a focus on community-based outpatient clinical care. The Physician Assistant independently follows his/her own panel of general medicine patients functioning as their primary care provider. The primary care Physician Assistant provides total care of the patients medical needs by performing history and physical exams ordering appropriate lab tests evaluating those tests to ensure quality care of the patient. This will include providing preventative medicine services managing chronic disease problems and providing outpatient follow-up as needed.

The Primary Care Physician Assistant will ensure that the care is coordinated and communicated to the outpatient. The primary care Physician Assistant will provide services as directed to meet the needs of the patient population being served by the medical center. The Physician Assistant must be flexible in the work assignments based upon the immediate needs of the service line.

The Primary Care Physician Assistant must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served by the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System. The individual must demonstrate the knowledge of the changes associated with aging and possess the ability to provide care based upon physical psycho/social cultural safety and other age-related factors as noted in the competencies described in departmental and/or unit specific policies and procedures.

Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Work Schedule: TBD. (Typically M-F; 0730-1600 CST or as agreed upon with the possibility of extended hours and weekends. NOTE: Candidates must be willing to work weekends irregular work hours and extended hours. The candidate must be willing to be assigned to other related services and/or locations if necessary.)

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

Conditions of employment

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• 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

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Physician Assistant 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.
• Language: Individuals appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d).
• Education:
  • Masters degree in any discipline or
  • a bachelors degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant AND
• Training Program:
  • Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) or
  • in the process to taking the exam AND
• License: Currently hold or will hold a full and unrestricted license to practice in a State Territory or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia.

• i. Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.
• ii. Ability to perform patient history and physical.
• iii. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.
• iv. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.

• i. Two years of successful practice as a
• ii. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA ARC-PA U.S. Armed Forces or another accrediting agency. OR
• iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

• i. Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
• ii. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
• iii. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
• iv. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
• v. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

• i. Three years of successful practice as a
• ii. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA ARC-PA U.S. Armed Forces or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a
• iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA.

• i. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
• ii. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).
• iii. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
• iv. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals health managers and other health care personnel.
• v. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes.
• vi. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.