Physician Pain Management

Full Job Description

VA NWIHCS is an integrated system that serves more than 56,000 Veterans in 99 counties in Nebraska, western Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

It includes a tertiary medical center in Omaha, two larger clinics in Lincoln and Grand Island, two Community Living Centers, and five community-based outpatient clinic 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: Board certified in pain medicine; fellowship training; experience prescribing chronic opioids and tapering high-dose opioids; treatment with Suboxone for opioid use disorder; experience with integrative pain management; interventional pain management experience Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The work in generally with daily walking, standing, bending, stooping, reaching, and carrying of moderate weight items required.

Rigid deadlines and need for high degree of accuracy periodically becomes stressful. Major Duties:

The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers.

This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest.

As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran.

This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community.

This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

The Nebraska Western Iowa-Omaha VA Health Care System is currently recruiting for one Full-time, Pain Management Physician. This positions will be located in the Whole Health Service Line.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Authorized. Amount to be determined.

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of annual paid time offer 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 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 the following: Will serve as a clinical leader in the Pain Clinic, providing comprehensive, multidisciplinary pain care, program development, and medical leadership.

Will be recognized as an expert in the safe prescribing of opioid medication and will manage complex chronic pain patients on opioids and taper opioid and benzodiazepine medications as appropriate.

Expertise in diagnosing and treating chronic pain patients with Opioid Use Disorder and will be a clinical champion for medication assisted therapy with Suboxone.

Provide training to other staff within the health care system and VA region on integrative pain management and safe opioid prescribing.

Provide pain care that that empowers and equips Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being and to live their life to the fullest.

In addition to integrative pain management, will be expected to provide interventional pain care in the procedural clinic.

Work closely with a comprehensive team of specialists to provide care focused on activation and rehabilitation.

Our team will include the following team members: interventional pain physicians, addiction medicine specialist, physician assistant, pharmacist, pain psychologist, clinical social worker and pain physical therapist.

Use sound clinical judgment in assessing, planning, implementing, documenting and evaluating care, and uses the full complement of resources in delivering effective, multimodal pain care.

Work closely with pharmacist, addiction medicine specialist, psychologist and physical therapist on the Pain Management Team (PMT) to provide safe and effective, multidisciplinary pain management and mitigate the risk for patients receiving chronic opioid therapy.

Provide patient-centric tapering of opioids and benzodiazepines and treatment of Opioid Use Disorder with Suboxone.

Collaborate with other team members to develop an integrated pain management approach that maximizes the utilization of complementary and alternative therapies and active pain management strategies to improve the overall health and functioning of patients.

Team with PMT members to perform proactive medical record reviews of patients at risk of opioid related side effects and provide recommendations to primary care providers to enhance the effectiveness and safety of pain care.

Provide interventional pain care and work to improve efficiency, continuity, and effectiveness of interventional pain care.

Work with interventional pain physicians and advance practice practitioner to improve efficiency, continuity, and effectiveness of interventional pain care.

Provide regular risk reviews of high risk opioid patients as part of the Data Based Opioid Risk Review Team.

May also assist in monitoring VA Pain Management quality assurance metrics, including the Opioid Safety Initiative, program outcome data, and other local data source measurements as needed to ensure strong clinical performance.

Work Schedule: The tour of duty for this position is typically Monday- Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.