Duties

Summary

You could be part of an important initiative to provide mental health care for our nations Veterans! The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs mental health professionals who possess the energy, compassion, and commitment to serve those who serve our Country.
The incumbent will provide coverage on the inpatient medical service at the Hampton VA Medical Center to include the admission of patients to the hospital, management of daily inpatient care and discharge of patients from the hospital
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 08:00AM-4:30PM- Some weekends and holidays maybe required. Additional information may be provided during interview process.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Maybe Authorized for Highly Qualified Applicants.
Location: 1 vacancy in Hampton, VA; 1 vacancy to be filled for the Southside Expansion which includes Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach or Elizabeth City, NC. For Southside Expansion, available location will be discussed during the interview process.

MHBS is divided into sections to include inpatient, residential, outpatient and Primary Care Mental Health integration. Each section is supervised by a Mental Health Service Section Chief who is a licensed independent practitioner (LIP) who also provides direct care to Veterans while he/she ensures the following general administrative functions:

• Provide for quality and safety of the care, treatment and services provided by the Section in the MHBS service. This requires ongoing monitoring and evaluating of quality and safety (including access, efficiency and effectiveness); appropriateness of care and treatment provided to patients; patient satisfaction activities; patient safety and risk management activities; and utilization management
• Assist in identification of important aspects of care for the Section, identification of indicators used to measure and assess important aspects of care and evaluating of the quality and appropriateness of care. Utilize VHA performance measures and monitors as a basis for assessing the quality, timeliness, efficiency and safety of service activities.
• Maintain records of meetings that include reports of conclusions, data recommendations, responsible person, actions taken, and an evaluation of effectiveness of actions taken as appropriate.
• Develop criteria for recommending clinical privileges for LIP and scopes for non-LIP as appropriate for members of the section in MHBS service and ensure that FPPE and ongoing professional practice evaluation is continuously performed, and results are utilized in reprivileging.
• Responsible for supervision of staff and evaluations including performance appraisals, proficiency, personnel actions, peer reviews.
• Define and develop clinical privilege statements for staff in his/her section including levels of care that include all requirements of VHA handbook 1100.19 (credentialing and privileging).
• Develop policies and procedures to assure effective management, ethics, safety, communication and quality within the section and between MHBS sections and other services as appropriate.
• Review at least annually privilege templates for each service and make recommendation to the Chief, MHBS as needed for modifications.
• Must demonstrate knowledge and skills in interpersonal relations through appropriately and courteously relating to internal and external customers.
• Support and monitor time and attendance of staff including leave requests via VATAS.
• Support and ensure compliance with productivity, access and quality initiatives.
• Support and ensure compliance on the part of his/her staff support of resident/PA/NP/DO student supervision policy, clinical reminders, completion of encounters and notes, performance measures and indicators as required by local, VISN and national policy.
• Plans and oversees the completion of personal research programs, designed to provide information regarding program planning and relevant treatment approaches.
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assist in implementation of treatment plan as appropriate regarding their patients.
• Process Owner for Implementation of Clinical Programs / Projects with improved results in Metrics associated with Access/ Veteran Experience /Quality.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

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.
• Designated and/or random drug testing required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination

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.

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: 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. Approved schools are:(1) Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or(2) Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.(3) For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant
• License: 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), 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. Board Certification: Physicians are generally not required to be board certified for employment in VA; however, three circumstances in VA require physician board certification: (1) If the position being filled is required to be a supervisor for medical students or physician residents (including fellows), the LCME, ACGME or AOA standards requiring a particular board certification credential will apply. (2) If the position being filled will have faculty status with an affiliated medical school (for example, in joint recruitments with affiliated medical schools), then a medical school requirement for board certification will apply to the jointly recruited position. (3) If the position being filled is required to be board certified by virtue of specific VHA policy (for example, as director of a cardiac catheterization laboratory or Director of Clinical Laboratory Medicine), then VHA policy requiring board certification will apply.]
• English Language Proficiency: Physicians appointed to direct patient-care positions must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d).

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-2 Physician Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Preferred Experience: Board Certification in Psychiatrist and/or subspecialties

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-2 Physician Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: A pre-placement physical examination will be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness of candidates. The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies. Physician applicants must have the mental and physical ability to perform core privileges required by the specialty position in addition to any specialty privileges requested.

Education

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): The incumbent for this position may be eligible to apply for the Education Debt Reduction Program, up to $200,000, depending on the amount of verified qualifying debt balance and funding availability. Eligibility to apply does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Approval for EDRP awards are subject to the availability of funding and other qualifying factors. Please contact Human Resources at this medical center and speak with the Education Debt Reduction Program Coordinator for additional information.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

VA offers a comprehensive benefits package. This link provides an overview of the benefits associated with a VA practice: VHA Physician Brochure .

Annual leave shall accrue for full-time physicians at the rate of eight (8) hours per biweekly pay period.

This job announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies to include, Elizabeth City APOC, Southside Expansion and other CBOCs associated with the Hampton VAMC, Location will be determined after selection process by the Mental Health, Service Chief.

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.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or 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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes (upload C.V. as resume document type):

• Resume

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's, etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• 10-2850
• License
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.