Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

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: Documented successful practice in anesthesiology in a tertiary care teaching hospital as well as completion of fellowship in cardiac anesthesia with documented successful practice
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: Physical demands include repetitive body movements including the following: frequent reaching, standing, walking, and lifting of equipment and/or patients to provide patient care
• This position requires extension of the hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction including above or below shoulder level, during the provision of patient care, including retrieval of needed equipment, supplies and to make contact with the patient
• This position requires the maintenance of an upright position to perform duties associated with patient care
• This position is typically non-sedentary, and frequently involves being in the standing position
• This position requires moving about accomplish tasks, such as assisting with patient ambulation and moving one patient area to the next
• This position requires the raising of objects from a lower position to a higher position or the movement of objects horizontally position to position
• Lifting may be done to move a patient from one location to the next, i.e.- from the exam table to the chair, and in the movement of equipment or supplies.

Duties

• The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) Anesthesia Service is seeking a full-time, highly talented Anesthesiologist to provide care for a wide variety of cases including general, cardiac, liver/kidney transplant, neurosurgical, thoracic, and vascular anesthesia
• Experience in liver transplant and cardiothoracic fellowship training highly preferred
• As one of the largest VA Healthcare systems in the United States, with state-of-the-art surgical technologies, VAPHS serves as the tertiary care referral center for a large veteran population in the Western Pennsylvania and surrounding areas
• Clinical duties include but are not limited to: Initial evaluation and overall workups, and focused history & physicals of medical/surgical patients as needed, including evaluation of patients as part of our multidisciplinary pre-op clinic
• Peri-operative anesthetic care to patients, including pre-operative assessment, intra-operative anesthetic administration and monitoring, and post-anesthesia care in an anesthesia team model with CRNA and/or anesthesia residents
• Rotating evening and weekend call coverage for urgent cases is considered a key responsibility
• Expertise with a wide variety of anesthesia techniques and procedures (experience with breath of anesthesia techniques), including regional and spinal anesthesia
• Provision of clinical anesthetic care to cardiothoracic and liver transplant surgical patients
• board certification in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography is highly preferred
• Teaching of anesthesia residents, medical students, and student nurse anesthetists (clinical affiliation with University of Pittsburgh)
• Participate in quality/performance improvement initiatives, committees, and any other relevant activities as appropriate, including VASQIP
• Opportunity for participation in clinical research for interested candidates
• Ability to work effectively with patients and coworkers and dedication to treating other health care professionals and patients' families with respect and dignity
• 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 VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov for questions/assistance
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): 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 Work Schedule: 7:00 a.m
• - 3:30 p.m./Variable