Orthopedic Surgeon

Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) in scenic - sunny Tucson, Arizona is seeking an Orthopedic Surgeon to join our dynamic team. If you have expertise in routine orthopedic trauma, including hip and ankle fractures, with sub specialization in foot and ankle surgery, we are excited to hear from you!

Job Description:

Provides direct patient care to patients and clinical guidance to mid-level providers in the Orthopedic Surgery Clinic. In addition, the Orthopedic provider, participates in interdisciplinary team activities to achieve optimum interdepartmental cooperation to assure the quality patient of care is maintained or improved.

 Job Duties:

• Participate in the progressive improvement of the service delivery, which may include programmatic participation in initiatives within the facility.
• Performs other directly related duties as assigned by the supervisor.
• Responsible for all aspects of medical care and provide or assist residents and/or the mid-level practitioner in the process of evaluation and treatment of Orthopedic patients.
• Evaluates the patient to assess changes in the physical and mental status. A progress note is written on the patient's chart. Notes also include the concurrence with notes written by the resident and attending notes as appropriate.
• Coordinates with providers within their own and outside of their own Service Line, and with other VHA facilities or community providers as determined by the plan of care for the veteran. Open, clear, and collaborative engagements are a key duty.
• Responsible to ensure barriers for veterans and staff are minimized to promote a positive work environment. Fosters positive working relationships with staff, peers, and veterans.
• Performs consultations within their own and other service lines as indicated.
• Responsible for the provision of clinical care, graduate and undergraduate medical education, and scientific research as appropriate.
• Participates in various hospital committees, departmental and hospital in-service programs, and education programs of the department and the hospital. This also includes continuous quality improvement through the peer review process.
• A Collaborative call schedule shared with three (3) other orthopedic surgeons.
• Full mid-level support from a team of six (6) skilled mid-level practitioners and an orthopedic resident.
• Opportunity to train orthopedic residents from the University of Arizona who is our academic affiliate.
• Proficiency in managing routine orthopedic trauma cases.

Requirements:

• United States Citizenship
• Non-US Citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified US 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
• Current, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in all the US States
• Must be Board Certified/Board Eligible in Orthopedic Surgery
• Successful completion of Residency Training in the USA
• Preferred Experience:
  Extensive Orthopedic Surgery experience
  Specialization in foot and ankle surgery, with a fellowship in this area highly desired.
  Experience managing routine orthopedic trauma cases when on call.
  Fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery is strongly preferred and should be able to perform ankle arthroplasties in addition to other foot and ankle cases.

The Tucson VA Medical Center is a 295-bed hospital that provides training, primary care, and sub-specialty health care in numerous medical areas for eligible Veterans. It is the "Flagship" for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS), which serves over 170,000 veterans located in eight counties in Southern Arizona comprised of the medical center in Tucson, Arizona and seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Casa Grande, Green Valley, Safford, Sierra Vista, Yuma, Northwest, and Southeast Tucson.

It is also a Joint Commission-accredited, level 1a complexity teaching hospital, providing tertiary-level care. The SAVAHCS offers a beautiful 150-acre campus with a full range of medical and mental health services for Veterans, including a 31-bed inpatient psychiatry/substance use acute treatment unit, a 25-bed mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program for substance use disorders (SUD) and PTSD treatment, intensive outpatient programs for SUD and PTSD, homeless programs, and more. The SAVAHCS operates a 24-hour emergency department and is the host site for various regional referral centers of excellence, including the Polytrauma Network Site, the Southwest Blind Rehabilitation Center, and the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP). The SAVAHCS is the principal teaching affiliate of the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Annually, nearly 1,000 physicians and associated health trainees participate in health care training programs at the SAVAHCS.

Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA) is America’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 medical centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year.

In addition to the honor of serving America’s Heroes, a career at VHA provides a robust total reward$ package (see full brochure here) and offers many benefits including: 

Pay: $350,000 - $375,000 per year with annual performance bonus, regular salary increases.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): maybe approved for a highly qualified candidate
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 (Board certification required).
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided.
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restrictions on moonlighting
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Please email: virginia.deutsch@va.gov

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to assisting you to your new, rewarding career at the Veterans Health Administration – Tucson, Arizona!

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service