Physician - Geriatrics and Extended Care Chief

About the role

The Marion, IL VA Medical Center is seeking a Physician to serve as the Chief of Geriatrics and Extended Care Service!

What you will do

• VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.
• VHA Physician Total Rewards.
• Duties include but are not limited to the following: Performs palliative and hospice clinical care of older patients with multiple complex health problems in a long-term care setting or OP clinic.
• Ensures that comprehensive, coordinated, and timely, long term health care of excellent quality is provided for every geriatric Veteran.
• Works collaboratively with other physicians, Nurse Practitioners, physician assistants, and nurses.
• Will supervise/teach geriatric or palliative fellows, medical residents, and trainees in other health related disciplines.
• Collaborates with the Medical Director in maintaining quality assurance and administrative needs in the nursing home care setting.
• Communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
• Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures.
• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.
• Assigns physician coverage for the nursing home units, designating alternates as necessary to promote appropriate intermediate bed utilization.
• Protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, Federal regulations, VA statutes and policy, and VHA policy.
• Uses the Veterans Health Information and Technology Architecture (VistA) to access information in the Medical Center Computer System.
• Demonstrates infection control practices for disease prevention.
• Apprises patients and their families and/or significant others of significant findings, diagnoses and prognoses and collaborates with them on treatment and continuity of care plans and end-of-life planning; participates in interdisciplinary patient education delivery and documentation.
• Administrative Responsibilities: The Chief is responsible for oversight of CLC, HBPC, HPC programs and other services that could be developed, such as Geriatric clinic or GeriPACT.
• Ensures that extended care services are aligned with the facility's mission, vision and strategic plan.
• Provides input as requested to the strategic plan.
• Provides for the integration of medical care with other services and programs within and outside Extended Care.
• Develops and implements appropriate policies and procedures to provide guidance in and ensure coordination of care.
• Directs and supervises the Section Chiefs for all programs in Extended Care, the HPC providers, and the Extended Care support staff of AO and/or PSA.
• The ECS Chief is ultimately responsible for the overall care and quality provided in the department.
• Ensures that all CLC, HBPC, HPC policies are effectively implemented and maintained and are updated as necessary.
• Attends and provides input into, as appropriate, the Executive Leadership Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, the Clinical Executive Board, the Professional Standards and Credentialing Board, Peer Review Committee and all QM/GEC performance improvement projects.
• Assesses needs for, develops, implements, and evaluates the GEC performance improvement plan.
• Participates in wide-ranging and higher-level management functions for GEC through participation and planning in operational boards, councils, and committees within the Marion VA HCS, the VISN and VHA.
• Manages all personnel management of GEC, including credentialing and privileging, defining scope of practice/privileges for medicine personnel, focused and ongoing professional practice evaluations, ongoing performance evaluations and assures the maintenance of continuing education for staff physicians.
• Oversees competencies for direct report staff, along with the development and completion of performance standards and appraisals.
• Responsible for successful external reviews, including TJC, CLC oversight reviews and implementation of approved recommendations.
• Work Schedule: Mon- Fri, 7:30am to 4:00pm.
• Incumbent may be expected to respond to events or emergencies on weekends, evenings, and holidays.
• 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 $1,000 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

Requirements

• 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, driver's 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.
• 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.

Education

Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed.

Approved schools are: Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.

For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year graduated. NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C.

7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.

How you will be evaluated

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire.

You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.).

If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation.

Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference.

For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Documents you must provide

• To apply for this position, you must submit a C.V. and/or resume.
• Other documents may be requested later in the process if needed.

What to expect next

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. We will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued, and applicants will be notified of their status by email.

Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications.

Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service.

HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities.

HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities.

HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.