Spinal Cord Injury Physician practice opportunity

The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, GA is searching for a BE/BC PM&R, IM or FM Physician with experience in Spinal Cord Injury to join their dynamic healthcare team. Positions are located at the Augusta, GA VAMC. 

Duties for the Staff Physician, SCI included, but are not limited to the following:

• The physician may work in one or all the following units: SCI Inpatient wards, SCI Clinic, and as a consultant to facility-wide services. The physician reports to the Assistant Chief Spinal Cord Injury.
• General Duties: The physician will, as defined by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the subspecialty SCI Medicine, admit, evaluate, diagnose, and provide treatment or consultative services to patients in need of SCl/D care. Upon providing competency and receiving approval, the incumbent may also perform specialty procedures as delineated in their clinical privileges.
• The physician will be responsible for providing care to patients and will participate in the physician on call rotation.
• The physician will assist the Service Chief in reviewing all interfacility consults (IFC) directed to the SCI service from the medical center or SCI spoke sites and will provide consultative services to spoke site providers as needed.
• The physician will assist the Service Chief in reviewing the records of all new injuries referred to the SCI center and deciding whether the patient is appropriate for services at the SCI center.
• The physician will assist the Service Chief in ensuring that the service line meets all the SCI performance measures or health systems indicators.
• The physician will assist the Service Chief in investigating issues that arise within the inpatient/outpatient services and will formulate action plans to resolve these issues.
• The physician will assist the Service Chief while working with the SCI Business Manager and Admissions Clerk in managing the inpatient census and scheduled admissions based on staffing levels.
• The physician will be responsible for the supervision and evaluation of midlevel providers assigned to the service.
• The physician may be asked to attend meetings and act as a representative for the SCI Service Chief.
• The physician will function as the acting SCI Service Chief in the absence of the SCI Service Chief and Assistant SCI Service Chief.
• The physician will perform other duties as assigned by the SCI Service Chief.
• The physician is engaged in direct patient contact or performs tasks defined by statute or recognized custom of medical practice within the bounds of state law as defined by the board of professional licensure.
• The physician should be certified (or Board Eligible if within one year of completion of residency/fellowship) in their specialty. Certification in the subspecialty of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine is desirable but not required. The physician must prove successful completion of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or American Osteopathic Association approved post-graduate residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Internal Medicine, or Family Practice. Physicians must meet the qualification requirements stated in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G2, Physician Qualification Standards, pp II-G2-1 thru 4.

  Preferred Experience: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation certification and the subspecialty SCI medicine.

Work Hours: 8am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday

Salary Range: Up to $320,000 per year  

A sign-on bonus is available and education loan repayment is authorized through the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP). Participation is based on funds availability. 

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

Augusta is a two-division Medical Center that provides tertiary care in medicine, surgery, neurology, psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, and spinal cord injury. The Downtown Division is authorized 155 beds (58 medicine, 37 surgery, and 60 spinal cord injury). The Uptown Division, located approximately three miles away, is authorized 285 beds (68 psychiatry, 60 domiciliary, 15 blind rehabilitation and a 142-bed Restorative Care Center comprised of 132 nursing home care beds and 40 rehabilitation beds).

Through the Joint Venture for Shared Services agreement with Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, Army surgeons perform neurosurgery at the Augusta VAMC for both VA patients and DoD beneficiaries. In addition, Cardio-thoracic surgery is performed at Eisenhower Army Medical Center for VA and DoD patients by Army surgeons. The Joint Venture for Shared Services provides for the cost-effective sharing of resources between these two federal health care facilities.

The medical center enjoys a strong affiliation with the Medical College of Georgia. The Augusta VAMC provides medical and allied health training to an average of more than 1000 students and residents annually. Additional health training affiliations exist with 50 academic institutions.