Summary The Birmingham VA Health Care System is recruiting for a Physician - Director of Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). The GRECC Director is responsible for leading, coordinating, developing, and implementing strategies to deliver GRECC research, educational and clinical programs and activities. Responsibilities The GRECC Director is responsible for promoting activities to increase basic knowledge of aging, transmit this knowledge to health care providers, and improve the quality of care delivered to geriatric patients. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Authorized 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 Duties include, but are not limited to: Provides medical oversight to clinical research projects and evaluates educational programs, curricula and training efforts. Fulfills obligations of this position as determined by the Veterans Affairs (VA) Central Office and in collaboration with other GRECCs. Responsible for the overall operations and performance of the GRECC, including administrative and clinical functions. Articulates and promotes the vision, mission, and goals of the program. Represents or delegates authority to represent the GRECC on suitable committees, boards, and councils of the Birmingham VA, Atlanta VA, and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) and to Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) in VA Central Office (VACO). Ensures that GRECC staff work collaboratively in the annual development and evaluation of the GRECC's goals and objectives. Supervises and initiates all necessary personnel actions concerning GRECC core staff, including hiring, promotion, evaluation, recognition, counseling, and disciplinary actions. Responsible for the development, coordination, implementation and evaluation of educational programs and activities. Establishes the GRECC performance plan and reviews the plan at least annually with the BVAHCS Executive Director or designee. Participates in monthly GRECC Directors calls and annual meeting; and facility- wide activities, such as leadership meetings and Medical Staff Executive Council to ensure integration of GRECC functions with overall goals of the health care system. Ensures efficient clinic operations and timely response to needs of other services. Responsible for preparing the GRECC annual report and reviewing it with GRECC leadership; developing and disseminating a composite report on the status and productivity of the GRECC for internal and external stakeholders; facilitating inter-GRECC collaborative activities through meetings and announcements, and information exchanges; and staffing GRECC site visits by the Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee (GGAC), including negotiating visit dates, obtaining pre-site visit reports, and developing reports following site visits. Demonstrates outstanding professional ability in the practice of outpatient care or a medical specialty and provide a high standard of outpatient care for the medical center Veteran population. Provides direct patient care through assessment, ordering, monitoring, and follow up where needed by the facility. Responsible for the initiation of appropriate health care consults and referrals for all direct-care patients as applicable. Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for all direct-care patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the Medical Center. Develops, implements, and documents within the clinical treatment plan for all direct-care patients as indicated and appropriate for the specific job setting and duties of the provider. Complies with all service documentation requirements, including standards for timely completion of Electronic Medical Health Record (EMHR) patient contact notes, use of required documentation templates, clinical reminders, treatment plans, and risk assessment protocols. Adheres to all facility and service policies and practices for delivering direct patient care, including but not limited to direct risk assessment and risk mitigation practices for potentially dangerous behavior (suicide and violence), timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and EMHR documentation conventions. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., subject to change based on the needs of the organization. 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. 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). 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. Preferred Experience: VA leadership and supervisory experience and knowledge of VHA and other accrediting bodies standards and regulation. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, without hazard to themselves or others. Depending on the essential duties of a specific position, usable vision, color vision, hearing or speech may be required. however, in most cases, a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. 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.
