Physician (Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services)

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The VA San Diego Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network. Were an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 (VISN 22)

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

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for a highly qualified candidate.

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

The major duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Serves as the VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director fulfilling all responsibilities of the VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director.
• Oversees all laboratory testing performed at VA medical facility laboratories serves as a consultant for specialty laboratories and ensures all testing is compliant with federal regulations.
• Directs and coordinates the patient care administration education and research functions of the VA medical facility PALMS.
• Responsible for all quality measures regarding patient services.
• Provides consultation and guidance to VA health care providers regarding matters pertaining to pathology and laboratory medicine and the medical significance of laboratory findings.
• As the CLIA Medical Director (or delegates a voting member) participates on the VA medical facility Clinical Executive Board or analogous medical staff committee and all other appropriate committees.
• Participates in applicable cross-organizational performance-improvement activities developing and communicating to the VA medical facility Chief Of Staff (COS) objectives and coordinating efforts to integrate patient care and support services.
• Directs and coordinates the functions of the VA medical facility PALMS and outreach functions based upon the mission special needs and size of the VA medical facility.
• Ensures that VA medical facility laboratories performing patient care testing meet requirements for hospital accreditation.
• Ensures if the VA medical facility PALMS has a blood bank or transfusion service it maintains current Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) accreditation.
• Acts as a consultant for the VA medical facility when a community care provider is contracted to perform laboratory testing for VA patients. The VA medical facility Chief PALMS must ensure that documentation is obtained to verify the contracted laboratory is appropriately CLIA certified and if its a non-waived laboratory accreditation is documented.
• Ensures OPPE of VA medical facility pathology physicians and all technical and quality aspects of anatomic pathology are met.
• Ensures FPPEs are performed as appropriate.
• Oversees all PALMS-related quality reviews (e.g. OPPE FPPE the PLM QM Program anatomic pathology internal quality review).
• Reviews and approves VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director appointments at VA medical facility specialty laboratories when the appointee is not a pathology physician.
• Establishes and implements criteria for rescreening cytopathology specimens for high-risk patients.
• In conjunction with the VA medical facility COS ensuring an ongoing mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the usefulness and appropriateness of specialized testing requests to outside reference laboratories and ensuring the testing is appropriate for patient care.
• Equitably assigns pathology workload to pathology staff and establishes and maintains pathologist daily schedule to include on-call services.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary conferences (i.e. Tumor Board Chest Conference GI Conference etc.).

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 Certified in Anatomic and/or Clinical Pathology
• Qualified candidates will be able to demonstrate a record of academic accomplishments commensurate with the rank of associate or full professor with a track record of translational or clinical research and will be eligible for academic appointment through the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

• The candidate must have demonstrated significant levels of clinical expertise and publication record in pathology disciplines.
• Experience and knowledge in formulating and reporting diagnostic information.