Physician Assistant-Primary Care (West Clinic)

William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital employs Physician Assistants in the Primary Care Service Line. The Physician Assistant is an integral part of the primary care team and is called upon for several important duties. The Physician Assistant (PA) is an individual who is a graduate of an accredited PA program approved by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant(ARC-PA).
Medical prescribing privileges for controlled substances can only be granted in accordance with the Federal Controlled Substances Act and applicable order to prescribe controlled substances the health care practitioners state of licensure or registration must permit him or her to do so. PAs function as agents of their supervising physician within their identified scope of practice. The Primary Care PA assists in preparation of the patient to include but not limited to teaching accumulating data and medical problems and as needed presenting patient-centered discussion of medical problems with his/her supervising Physician.

Major duties but not limited to:

• Maintain medical record entries which reflect the patients healthcare.
• Act as the focal point of the designated outpatient clinic by being the contact person for all other consultant-specialty services regarding patient care.
• Ensure that the care is coordinated and communicated to the patient.
• Provide services as directed to meet the needs of the patient population being served by the medical center.
• Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served by the Madison VA Hospital.
• 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 until specific policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate expertise in all elements of the patients health care process
• Perform history and physical examinations to industry standard.
• Perform duties within scope of practice to the standards set forth by the supervising Physician.
• Use effective decision-making and leadership in the application of the care of the patient.
• Perform special examinations as assigned by the Section Chief Primary Care. Performs These examinations in accordance with established guidelines/protocols.
• Maintain clinic schedule and informs proper parties of same.
• Maintain lines of communication between referring hospitals so that referrals are made without problems.
• Attend learning sessions which will foster better care.
• Guide patients and families in obtaining the best service and information from Internal/external sources.
• Assist with the total care of the patients medical needs including performing history and physical examinations.
• Order diagnostic studies such but not limited to laboratory tests x-rays electrocardiograms (EKGs) evaluating the results and providing the necessary follow-up care;
• Provide on-going outpatient care for assigned patients;
• Carry out health promotion and disease prevention activities;
• Initiate and expediting requests for consultations and scheduling special tests and studies;
• Provide education and counseling of patients and families in preventive care medical conditions and use of prescribed treatments and drugs;
• Act within the guidelines established by their scope of practice

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday Day Shift (Occasional Saturdays may be required)
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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

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

• Masters degree in any discipline or a bachelors degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant AND
• Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam) AND
• 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.

Preferred Experience: 1 year of Primary Care experience.

Grade Determinations:
Physician Assistant-I (PA-I):Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs.
Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. The following list of knowledge skills and abilities (KSA) present the minimum skill set expected of an Entry Level PA. This practice may include but is not limited to:

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

Physician Assistant-II (PA-II):Experience and Education. The PA at this grade is at the intermediate grade level and has had progressively increasing responsibility and experiences as indicated in the KSAs listed below. Individuals will have demonstrated the ability to analyze and solve more complex medical problems than at the entry level grade and can utilize their training in the successful practice of patient care and participate in team problem solving. Individuals demonstrate the KSAs of PA-II intermediate level by: September 27 2020 VA Handbook 5005/134 PART II APPENDIX G8 II-G8-5i. Two years of successful practice as a PA.
OR
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
A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs). PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify but should be able to demonstrate develop or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-II:
  • Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
  • Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
  • Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
  • Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
  • Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

Physician Assistant-III (PA-III):Experience and Education. PAs at the PA-III grade are at the full performance level and lead and organize patient care independently practice within multi-disciplinary teams and coordinate all aspects of patient care across the health care system. They utilize advanced clinical knowledge and judgment in decision-making and evaluating outcomes. They function as experts in clinical practice and/or in areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities may serve as mentors for transitioning PAs and may provide training for health care students. Individuals can demonstrate the KSAs for the full performance level by:i. Three years of successful practice as a PAORVA Handbook 5005/134 September 27 2020 PART II APPENDIX G8 II-G8-6 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 PA.
OR
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.

• Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify but should be able to demonstrate develop or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-III:
  • Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
  • 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).
  • Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
  • Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals health managers and other health care personnel.
  • 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.
  • Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is Grade 3. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of Grade 1 to Grade 3.

Physical Requirements: The work requires standing or walking for a major portion of the work day. Physical requirements could consist of a variety of standing walking twisting turning sitting bending pushing carrying and light lifting.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges universities schools or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information visit: