Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Responsibilities The VA Saint Louis Health Care System (VASTLHCS) Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders (SCI/D) Center has well-established programs dedicated to providing acute rehabilitation and chronic lifelong comprehensive care, including SCI-informed primary care, to Veterans with SCI/D. The Internal Medicine (IM) physician hired for this role will complete consults on inpatient Veterans admitted to the SCI/D Center to follow chronic medical conditions and for prevention or early recognition of acute medical issues that would necessitate transfer out of the rehabilitation hospital. The IM physician will work closely and collaboratively with the PM&R SCI physicians, who are the primary providers for the inpatient Veterans. The IM physician will also see outpatients for preventative care and management of general medical issues alongside the Nurse Practitioners who provide primary care. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact visn15edrp@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance 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 up to $3500 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 SCI/D Rehabilitation Center consists of up to 27 staffed inpatient beds and 6 acute-care beds at the John Cochran Division. The Saint Louis SCI/D Center serves as a VA SCI specialty referral hub for the Midwest region. The VASTLHCS has affiliations with Washington University in Saint Louis and St. Louis University. A successful candidate may seek a faculty appointment at Washington University or St. Louis University School of Medicine if qualified. Duties and qualities include the following: Consult and provide guidance to SCI/PM&R physicians on the general medical needs of the Veterans admitted to the SCI/D Center and participate in inpatient coverage on an as-needed basis, including admission, daily care, and discharge of Veterans as appropriate. Work may include collaboration with a Physician Assistant. (~50% allocation of time); Manage a limited panel of patients in the SCI/D Patient Aligned Care/Primary Care Team clinic as necessary and/or consult on patients managed independently by the 2 Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP) Advanced Practice Nurses (NPs) in clinic who provide SCI-informed primary care to outpatient and home-health Veterans (~25% allocation of time); Serve as the SCI/D Home Care Program Director, participating in the review of care plans with the interdisciplinary Home Care team, and serving as consultant for the LIP NP who sees Veterans in the home. The incumbent is also responsible for keeping SCI/D Home Care Program SOPs up to date and ensuring ongoing compliance with Joint Commission and any other benchmarks and standards as applicable. (~25% allocation of time.) Attend and participate in Interdisciplinary Team and Veteran/Family meetings as part of inpatient and outpatient care; Display a high level of professionalism, engagement, and responsiveness with other members of the SCI/D team; Advocate for Veterans with SCI/D and maintain Integrity, Compassion, and Respect for patients and colleagues; Adhere to medical standards of care; become familiar and compliant with national and local performance measures of care, clinical reminders, and local policies and procedures; Complete documentation, encounters, and clinical reminders thoroughly, accurately, and in a timely manner; Show genuine interest in learning about the medical care needs of Veterans living with SCI/D and become familiar with common comorbidities of SCI/D in order to provide SCI/D-informed IM general medical care. Ideally the physician hired will display interest in teaching and assisting with establishing and precepting an IM resident rotation with a medical affiliate of VASTLHCS (Washington University or St. Louis University). Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm *On-call duties, which include rounding on weekends and holidays with night call the remainder of the week are required and rotated with the other Physicians. 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. 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's 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). 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. Preferred Experience: Preferred experience includes inpatient internal medicine consultation, outpatient internal medicine, managing complex and chronic medical conditions, and experiencing working in a team-based setting. Current IM board certification strongly preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: This position requires a pre-employment physical. Requires lifting 15-44 pounds; pushing (approx. 2 hours); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers and both hands; walking and standing from 3-5 hours and kneeling. Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously. Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4. Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other. Must have depth perception and ability to distinguish basic colors and shades of colors. Hearing aid is permitted. 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, or Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted. 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. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate 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. 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.
