Physician-Compensation & Pension

Veterans Health Administration • Parma, OH

2d

About The Position

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is hiring a Physician-Compensation & Pension as part of its Primary Care service. The physician will cover Compensation & Pension (C&P), Environmental Health, and Military Environmental Exposure (MEE) assessments. The role includes completing disability examinations and supporting Veterans seeking disability benefits, as well as Environmental Health Registry and MEE exams. C&P examiners are cross-trained as Environmental Health examiners.

C&P receives its workload from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and all VBA requests are triaged by a clinician. Exams are expected to be scheduled within 20 days of receipt from VBA, and cases completed and returned to VBA for ratings within 30 days of receipt. General-medical examiners complete Disability Benefit Questionnaires (DBQs) and Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE) exams. They also complete Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) exams through internal consults, which are not part of the VBA workload.

The unit also completes Environmental Health Registry and MEE exams. In FY25, from October through January, it completed 691 Environmental Health exams. The PACT Act has increased demand for C&P, Environmental Health, and MEE services as more Veterans file disability claims. The Act also requires Veterans to complete a Toxic Exposure Screening (TES); the posting notes that 40% of Veterans endorse an exposure and 49% of those are referred to Environmental Health.

The position offers a federal total rewards package, including paid time off, retirement, insurance, and other potential incentives. An Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) benefit may be available to eligible applicants, subject to program approval and application requirements. The position has a Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. work schedule.

Requirements

• Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree in allopathic or osteopathic medicine from an appropriately approved or accredited medical 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 qualifying residency training in an accredited core specialty program leading to board-certification eligibility, or a qualifying alternative pathway specified in the announcement.
• 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.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program for VA Health Care Personnel.
• Applicants tentatively selected for a testing-designated position are subject to urinalysis for illegal drug use before appointment; refusal results in denial of employment.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must meet Selective Service registration requirements.
• Subject to background and security investigation and completion of online onboarding and pre-employment identification requirements.
• May be required to serve a probationary period.
• At least 2 years of recent experience treating acutely and chronically ill patients in a full-time primary-care setting is preferred, as stated in the announcement.

Nice To Haves

• At least 2 years of recent experience treating acutely and chronically ill patients in a full-time primary-care setting.
• Board certification may qualify a full-time physician for possible CME reimbursement of up to $1,000 per year.

Responsibilities

• Conduct Compensation & Pension (C&P) examinations and cover Environmental Health and Military Environmental Exposure (MEE) assessments.
• Schedule C&P exams within 20 days of receiving requests from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), as expected by the posting.
• Complete cases and return them to VBA for ratings within 30 days of receipt, as expected by the posting.
• Complete Disability Benefit Questionnaires (DBQs) and Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE) exams.
• Complete Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) exams through internal consults; these are not part of the VBA workload.
• Complete Environmental Health Registry and MEE exams.
• Participate in clinician triage of requests from VBA; the posting states that all VBA requests are triaged by a clinician.

Benefits

• Possible Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) student-loan reimbursement of up to $200,000, with eligibility and award period determined after application review; former EDRP participants are ineligible.
• Recruitment or relocation incentives may be available to highly qualified applicants.
• 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 5-day paid CME absence.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k), with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term-life, and long-term-care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
• Possible $1,000 per year CME reimbursement for full-time physicians with board certification.
• Free liability protection with tail coverage.

What This Job Offers

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