Physician-Hospitalist

Veterans Health Administration • West Haven, CT

21h • Onsite

About The Position

The VA Connecticut Healthcare System is recruiting a full-time staff physician specializing in Hospital Medicine to care for Veteran inpatients in the acute care service. The position includes an appointment with Yale University Faculty and responsibility for educating residents and medical students. The physician will provide comprehensive inpatient care for hospitalized Veterans age 18 and older, including admission, evaluation, management, and discharge, while ensuring safe and efficient transitions of care.

Care is delivered while supervising learners. Teaching responsibilities include dedicated formal teaching time, trainee evaluation, patient-care teaching during clinics and inpatient and consultative rounds, and teaching physical diagnosis. The physician is expected to stay current with emerging literature and guidelines and participate in section meetings, quality-improvement initiatives, committee activities, and scholarly work. On-tour time is designated for self-directed scholarly work as part of the dual VA and Yale appointments.

The role includes identifying clinical opportunities for performance improvement or traditional research, and demonstrating knowledge and skills related to invasive procedures, quality monitoring, and follow-up care. The physician must complete required VA educational programs and trainings.

The primary schedule is Monday through Friday. Hospital Medicine Physicians work a block-style clinical schedule with assigned weekend duties and participate in scheduled weekend and holiday rotations as needed to meet clinical service needs. Recent repeated experience with paracentesis, lumbar puncture, and point-of-care ultrasound is preferred but not required.

The VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package that includes competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases, paid time off, retirement benefits, insurance, possible CME reimbursement, and malpractice liability protection with tail coverage. There is no Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting.

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.
• Successful completion of qualifying residency training approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program, or an applicable alternative pathway described in the announcement.
• Board certified or board eligible in Internal Medicine.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship, except that non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited in accordance with VA policy.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination.
• Must be able to meet the stated physical requirements, including light lifting and carrying up to 15 pounds, frequent reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, hands, and legs, walking, standing, bending, climbing, and hearing a whisper.
• Must be physically, emotionally, and mentally stable to perform essential functions without hazard to self or others.
• Must complete required pre-employment, background/security, onboarding, and other VA employment requirements described in the announcement.

Nice To Haves

• Prior work, during residency or afterward, teaching internal medicine to students and residents.
• Recent repeated experience in paracentesis, lumbar puncture, and point-of-care ultrasound.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive inpatient care for hospitalized Veterans age 18 and older, including admission, evaluation, management, and discharge.
• Ensure safe and efficient transitions of care.
• Supervise learners while providing patient care.
• Teach residents and medical students through dedicated formal teaching, patient-care experiences, inpatient and consultative rounds, clinics, and physical diagnosis instruction.
• Evaluate trainees.
• Coordinate patient care through patient-management techniques and effective written and oral communication across specialties, between specialty and primary care, and between acute and outpatient settings.
• Identify clinical-practice opportunities for performance improvement activities or traditional research.
• Perform invasive procedures and provide quality monitoring and follow-up care, as appropriate.
• Stay abreast of emerging literature and guidelines.
• Participate in section meetings, quality-improvement initiatives, and committee activities.
• Undertake self-directed scholarly work during designated on-tour time.
• Complete required VA educational programs and trainings.

Benefits

• 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 absence for CME.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and 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 malpractice 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: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree