Physician (Gastroenterologist)

The James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) located in North Chicago Illinois is the nations only fully integrated facility that supports Active Duty Naval service members Naval recruits and our nations Veterans. Our mission is to Ready Warriors and Care For Heroes. With this we are actively seeking a highly qualified board-certified Gastroenterologist to join our team.

As a Staff Gastroenterologist at FHCC the incumbent will report to the Chief of Gastroenterology in the Medicine Service Directorate and provide direct patient care. The incumbent will care for a broad range of age groups and conditions related to Gastroenterology. FHCC provides inpatient and outpatient Gastroenterology care to Active-Duty military members their families Naval Recruits and Veterans using various modalities of care including inpatient consultations ambulatory clinic referrals and Tele Health services. The incumbent will provide services including but not limited to examinations consultative services management of patient conditions and application of office-based treatments. As a teaching institution incumbent will be required to educate and collaborate with health professional trainees assigned to the Gastroenterology service and at a minimum hold a position of clinical instructor at our academic affiliate. Incumbent will actively participate in medical staff meetings relevant committees quality assurance programs and assist our facility to meet established performance measures in Gastroenterology. Incumbent will perform chart reviews and coordinate with other medical staff members regarding patient care issues.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Provide direct patient care specific to Gastroenterology in the ambulatory clinic setting and inpatient units
2. Provide timely screening and resolution of consultations from other disciplines
3. Provide a range of therapeutic interventions specific to Gastroenterology and have clinical privileges to practice including diagnostic assessment medication evaluation and management.
4. Order diagnostic tests and discriminate between normal and abnormal findings and makes appropriate treatment decisions. Documentation of care in the medical record in keeping with the Bylaws of the Medical Center Staff.
5. Provide supervisory oversight for health professional trainees who are assigned to the Gastroenterology Service.
6. Provide collaboration on the clinical care of Physician Assistants as appropriate. Participates effectively in team meetings and treatment planning conferences and collaborates with multidisciplinary team members in a manner that enhances coordination of comprehensive patient care.
7. Ensures that the practice of medicine is consistent with Joint Commission CARF VA policies and procedures clinical practice guidelines VISN standards national statutes and regulations medical record documentation mandatory continuing education and HIPPA policies.

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.