Physician Assistant

The Physician Assistant (PA) at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center serves as a vital member of the healthcare team providing comprehensive medical care across a range of clinical settings. Duties are performed under an approved Scope of Practice which is individualized based on training experience and clinical competency and reviewed by the collaborating physician and medical staff committee.

Applicants with experience in Kinesiology musculoskeletal/spine medicine including athletic training will be considered the most highly qualified.

Routine Duties include:

• Obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations.
• Providing and coordinating medical care for assigned patients including diagnosis care planning implementation and follow-up.
• Evaluating outpatients to determine further healthcare needs.
• Ordering diagnostic studies and special tests (e.g. MRI CT scans).
• Carrying out health promotion disease prevention and patient education activities.
• Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens.
• Ordering ancillary services (pharmacy social services rehabilitation therapies prosthetics etc.).
• Initiating VA specialty consults and requests for non-VA care per policy.
• Ordering patient care supplies.
• Writing orders and prescribing medications in accordance with VA and state regulations.
• Admitting and discharging patients in consultation with the collaborating physician including documentation of admission history physical exams progress notes and discharge summaries.
• Making patient record entries (medical histories progress notes consults evaluations orders) without physician co-signature unless required by law or policy.
• Obtaining and documenting informed consent for treatments and procedures as authorized by the Scope of Practice.
• Providing education and counseling to patients and families regarding preventive care medical conditions and prescribed treatments.

Expanded Scope of Practice (if approved):

• May include additional procedures such as application of splints battlefield acupuncture nasogastric intubation suturing minor dermatological procedures (incision and drainage skin tag removal biopsies etc.) orthopedic procedures (joint and bursal injections) and womens health procedures (pelvic/breast exams contraception counseling menopause management cancer screening etc.) based on demonstrated competency and additional training.

Practice Autonomy:

• PAs may practice with full limited or supervised autonomy depending on experience competency and assigned duties. Full autonomy is typical for experienced PAs in primary care and lower-risk settings while limited or supervised autonomy applies to newly appointed PAs or those performing higher-risk procedures.

Additional Notes:

• All duties are performed in accordance with VA Medical Staff policies applicable rules and federal emergencies restrictions may be waived as governed by Medical Staff Bylaws.
• Scope of Practice is reviewed and renewed periodically with input from the collaborating physician and medical staff leadership.

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/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.

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: Applicants with experience in Kinesiology musculoskeletal/spine medicine including athletic training will be considered the most highly qualified.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above the following qualification criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates:


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 PA. OR
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
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.

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:
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.


Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is 3.

Physical Requirements: Ability to pass a Drivers screening

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: