Summary The VA St. Louis Health Care System seeks one full-time and one part-time board-certified General Surgeons with expertise in minimally invasive, bariatric, and/or colorectal surgery. Duties include outpatient, inpatient, and operative care, general surgery call, and involvement in education, research, and quality improvement. Candidates must qualify for faculty appointment with an Academic Affiliate Partner of VA St. Louis Health Care System. Responsibilities VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. 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 Major Duties and Responsibilities: Selected candidates will provide high-quality, patient-centered surgical care to Veterans. Depending on specialty focus, duties may include: Development and leadership of a bariatric surgery program. Management of benign and malignant diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus. Performance of advanced minimally invasive, robotic, and endoscopic procedures. Participation in general surgery call and emergency surgical coverage. Supervision and education of residents, fellows, and medical students. Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams to ensure coordinated care. Engagement in quality improvement, peer review, and performance evaluation Clinical Responsibilities: Outpatient Care: Evaluate and treat Veterans with general, bariatric, or colorectal surgical needs. Perform in-clinic procedures such as high-resolution anoscopy, hemorrhoidal interventions, and minor surgical procedures. Collaborate with APPs, residents, and nursing staff to ensure efficient clinic operations. Inpatient Care: Provide consultations and manage hospitalized patients with general or specialty-specific surgical conditions. Co-manage complex cases with other surgical and medical teams. Operative Care: Perform a full range of general, minimally invasive, bariatric, and/or colorectal surgeries using open, laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic techniques. Ensure comprehensive preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care. Lead surgical teams in the OR with a focus on safety, efficiency, and teaching. Emergency and On-Call Duties: Provide timely evaluation and surgical intervention for emergency cases. Participate in the general surgery call schedule. Team-Based Care: Foster a collaborative, multidisciplinary team environment. Mentor and supervise resident surgeons and health care trainees. Participate in interdisciplinary care team meetings and case conferences. Teaching and Education: Provide clinical instruction to residents, fellows, and medical students. Supervise and mentor trainees in clinics, operating rooms, and emergency settings. Assist in training staff and nurses. Participate in educational conferences, case discussions, and morbidity and mortality reviews. Administrative and Professional Duties: Attend section meetings and serve on hospital committees. Assist with performance evaluations and peer reviews. Oversee credentialing, privileging, and continuing education compliance. Maintain accurate documentation in CPRS, VistA, and FEHR systems. Participate in quality improvement and patient safety initiatives. Coordinate services with Community Care, VISN partners, and academic affiliates. Ensure compliance with VHA, Joint Commission, and facility standards. Research and Scholarly Activity (if applicable): Encourage and participate in clinical, translational, or basic science research. Collaborate with academic affiliates on research and scholarly projects. Support staff involvement in scholarly activities and quality initiatives. Scope of Practice / Privileges: Includes outpatient and inpatient general surgery, advanced laparoscopic, bariatric, colorectal, and robotic procedures. Privileges are subject to approval by the Professional Standards Board and the Chief of Staff. Supervisory Controls: Reports directly to the Chief of General Surgery. Provides supervision to general surgery staff and oversight of APPs, nurses, technicians, and health professions trainees. Performance is evaluated based on clinical outcomes, quality metrics, and section performance. Work Schedule: Full-time/Part-time opportunities available. Tour of Duty is negotiable to highly qualified candidates. 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). As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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. Additional Requirement: Candidates must be eligible for faculty appointment with an established academic affiliate partner of VASTLHCS. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Please refer to VA Handbook 5019 for more information. 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.
