Staff Physician (Ophthalmology) - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive/EDRP Authorized

Full Job Description

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. 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.

Language: Proficiency in spoken and written English. Education: 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.

License/Registration: 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), 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.

Residency Note: 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Major Duties:

As MEDICAL Ophthalmologists, Staff Physicians (Ophthalmology) function as an integral part of the eye care team, examining the human eye and ascertaining defects of the human visual system.

They function as independent providers with a Memorandum of Understanding with Ophthalmology for glaucoma, diabetes, and macular degeneration.

Primary eye and vision care duties include but are not limited to: prescribing glasses and contact lenses, ordering diagnostic imaging and laboratory studies; determining a diagnosis, creating a treatment plan patient and family health education Components of primary optometric eye and vision care include but are not limited to: emergency care (evaluating/managing/triaging emergent, non-surgical eye conditions); problem-oriented care (managing patients referred with complaints typical of routine disorders); preventive health services (performing mandated examinations such as diabetic retinopathy macular degeneration and glaucoma screenings).

Clinical procedures include but are not limited to: medical and ocular history; visual acuity measurement; pupillary function testing; color vision testing; extraocular muscle function and binocularity testing; refractive and accommodative testing; external examination of the eye and adnexal structures; biomicroscopic evaluation of the ocular adnexa, anterior, and/or posterior segments of the eye including gonioscopic and fundus lens evaluation; ophtalmoscopic, tonometric, and perimetric evaluations There may be other administrative or patient care duties as assigned.

The incumbent will be supervised by the chief of the ophthalmology section at Dallas VA Medical Center for quality, productivity and adherence to performance measures.

Productivity ranges expected are minimum of 16 complete exams per day on the average.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be approved for highly-qualified Candidate Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@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 $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: TBD (Typically M-F, 0800-1630 CST) VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

VHA Physician Total Rewards.