Physician/Ambulatory Care Section Chief

Veterans Health Administration • Saint Louis, MO

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The Chief of Ambulatory Care at VA St. Louis oversees outpatient clinical care management for the Service and supervises other licensed independent practitioners (LIPs), staff, and trainees assigned to the Service. The physician provides primary care to a panel of male and female Veterans and works in a Primary Care multidisciplinary team to coordinate and deliver care. The role includes substantial clinical and administrative responsibilities, with strong leadership and communication skills, collaboration with medical-center customers and stakeholders, and commitment to improving Veterans’ health.

The physician provides comprehensive assessment, diagnostic work-up, clinical intervention, patient education, referrals, treatment recommendations, medication management, and follow-up. The role requires timely and complete documentation in CPRS, responding to test alerts and health-line requests, and following performance-measure, access, prescription, formulary, and customer-service standards. The physician also serves as a colleague’s patient-care surrogate when needed, supports nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and ensures staff meet high standards of clinical care, efficiency, professionalism, and ethical conduct.

This is a VA federal physician position with a Monday–Friday schedule from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A recruitment or relocation incentive may be offered to highly qualified candidates. Eligible employees may qualify for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to program requirements and approval. The position includes a two-year trial period and requires a pre-employment physical examination and seasonal influenza vaccination.

Requirements

• Doctor of Medicine or equivalent degree in allopathic or osteopathic medicine from an appropriately approved or accredited school.
• Current, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
• Completion of residency training in an approved accredited core specialty program leading to board-certification eligibility, or qualifying alternative residency training accepted under VA requirements.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when recruiting qualified citizens is not possible under VA policy.
• Experience in Primary Care is a prerequisite for selection.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program for VA health care personnel.
• Must complete a two-year trial period and satisfy applicable background and security investigation requirements.
• Applicants selected for VA employment in a testing-designated position must undergo pre-employment urinalysis; refusal results in denial of employment.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Selected applicants must complete online onboarding and provide acceptable identification for pre-employment requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Prior clinical and administrative experience with the VA is desirable.
• Substantial clinical and administrative experience in a medical setting.
• Board certification may be relevant for CME reimbursement eligibility; it is not stated as a general selection requirement.

Responsibilities

• Provide primary care to a panel of male and female Veterans, including scheduled and unscheduled patients.
• Conduct comprehensive patient assessments, including health histories and physical examinations, and provide patient education and clinical interventions.
• Coordinate and deliver care as an integral member of a multidisciplinary Primary Care team.
• Distinguish normal from abnormal findings, establish diagnoses, and respond appropriately to emergency health problems.
• Initiate referrals and consultations; order and evaluate diagnostic tests; recommend treatment or referral; and assess the effectiveness of prior treatment.
• Initiate, evaluate, and change medication orders.
• Involve patients and families in care planning and in setting realistic, measurable health-maintenance and improvement goals.
• Document assessments, clinical decisions, care plans, ongoing management, outcomes, medication orders, diagnostic tests, and referrals in CPRS on the day of each encounter.
• Respond on the day of receipt to computerized alerts about abnormal diagnostic results and to health-line requests from Veterans or family members, except weekends.
• Follow performance-measure guidelines, including completing CPRS clinical reminders, and meet access, timeliness, prescription-entry, National VA Formulary, and customer-service standards.
• Work effectively with patients, families, multidisciplinary team members, and other staff while maintaining ethical and professional standards and a harmonious, customer-service-oriented work environment.
• Serve as a care surrogate for colleagues’ patients when colleagues are on leave or traveling.
• Provide clinical support to nurse practitioners and physician assistants delivering primary care and respond to patient concerns raised by Primary Care team staff.
• Supervise LIPs and other staff in the Service and ensure high standards of clinical care, efficiency, professionalism, and ethical behavior.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program student-loan reimbursement, up to $200,000 for an approved period of one to five years, subject to eligibility and program approval.
• Possible recruitment or relocation incentive for highly qualified candidates.
• Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, and regular salary increases.
• 50–55 days of paid time off per year, including 26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid federal holidays, and possible five-day paid CME absence.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term-care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.
• Possible CME reimbursement of $1,000 per year for full-time physicians with board certification.
• Free liability protection with tail coverage.
• No physician employment contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree