Amazing Primary Care Opportunities in the beautiful state of Montana!

Amazing Primary Care Opportunities in the beautiful state of Montana!

Welcome to Montana, the BIG SKY State! Nestled around the Rocky Mountains, Montana is ideal for your inner adventurer if you enjoy boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, or hiking in the summer. Snowmobiling, sledding, or snowshoeing in the winter, or head on up to the slopes to ski or snowboard one of our many ski resorts. Visit Yellowstone just a short jaunt from wherever you are in the state, or you may want to check out our many small towns, such as Red Lodge at the edge of the Beartooth Mountains, or Phillipsburg, where you can pan for sapphires, or visit one of our many hot spring resorts to soak your tired body, such as Chico Hot Springs, Broadwater Hot Springs  (close to Fort Harrison), or Quinn’s Hot Springs near Missoula.   

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
 

Locations:

• Glasgow, Montana
 
• Billings, Montana
 
• Mile City, Montana
 
• Helena, Montana
 
• Browning, Montana 
 
• Kalispell, Montana

Duties:

The Primary Care Physician(s) duties include the following:

• Provides comprehensive care for our veteran population, such as services in the diagnosis, care, and treatment of assigned/unassigned patients with acute care needs.
 
• Women's health care duties include assessment and treatment of patients, including pelvic examination, pap smears and other related gender-specific healthcare of women, reviews diagnostic studies and reports abnormal findings.
 
• Provides effective medical treatment, consultation, and diagnosis upon request from other Services/Departments.
 
• Perform office-based procedures Eg. Knee, shoulder, Hip injections/aspiration.
 
• Orders appropriate tests and incorporate results for the treatment plan.
 
• Initiates or expedites requests for consultations, special tests, or studies.
 
• Authorized to write both inpatient and outpatient medical orders, treatments and medications.
 
• Provides education and counseling to patient and family in preventive care, medical conditions, and use of prescribed treatment and drugs.
 
• Serve as an attending/teaching physician for internal medicine/Transitional residents and Preventive medicine residents/students as assigned.
 
• Participate in Peer reviews, chart reviews, hospital/clinic committees and Process improvement initiatives as assigned.
 
• Utilizes proficient data-entry (typing) skills
 
• MHC consults, Employee occupational health assessments
 
• BLS required
 
• Other duties as assigned.

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus)
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment)
Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50–55 days of paid time off 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 (must be full-time with board certification)
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restrictions on moonlighting

VA Montana Healthcare System serves veterans across the great state of Montana. In addition to our main medical center in Helena, we offer a number of services to patients in our community-based outpatient clinics.

The VA Montana Health Care System provides a VA presence in every major city in the state through a series of community based clinics, a community living center, and an acute care medical center.

Fort Harrison (Helena) is a 50-bed acute care, medical-surgical facility that offers a broad range of acute, chronic, and specialized inpatient and outpatient services for both male and female veterans. Specialty care includes internal medicine, gerontology, neurology, dermatology, cardiology, rheumatology, palliative care, pain management, medical oncology, surgery (general, vascular, laparoscopic, endoscopic), urology, orthopedics, plastic, ophthalmology, ENT, podiatry, gynecology, chiropractic care, psychiatry (including outpatient substance abuse treatment and PTSD and MST specific care), and ambulatory care (primary care). Radiology Service provides a broad range of diagnostic and interventional care provided on a full time basis. Pathology Services are available on site also provided on a full time basis. Telemedicine services are available for psychiatry, radiology, ophthalmology and tele-home health. The 24-bed inpatient mental health facility serves patients needing treatment for substance abuse and PTSD.

A 30-bed Community Living Center (CLC) that provides general and ventilator dependent care is located in Miles City. Primary care is provided at Anaconda, Billings, Bozeman, Cutbank, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Kalispell, Lewistown, Miles City, and Missoula. Primary Care Telehealth Outreach Clinics are located in Hamilton and Plentywood. Staff and contract specialists visit the clinics regularly and provide access to specialty care as needed.

Montana is the fourth largest state geographically and has one of the largest per capita veteran populations. To augment mental health services in the outbased clinics, VA Montana Health Care System contracted mental health care outside Lewis and Clark County (location of Fort Harrison) to reduce veteran travel. This allowed the VA to provide for local care while maximizing funding in rural areas without making the veteran travel.

Montana has two state veterans' homes located in Columbia Falls (northwest) and Glendive (east). VA also uses contract arrangements with private nursing homes to allow veterans to be placed in long term care facilities closer to their families.

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 paid Federal holidays per year
• 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

Cradled in the foothills of the Montana Rockies, Helena is the focal point of the state's politics. During the week, it's a bustling community of elected officials, lobbyists, and bureaucrats. On the weekends, however, it seems they all turn into outdoors fanatics, heading to the lakes and mountains. Helena is also a haven for artists and other creative types, evidenced by the galleries that dot the streets once dominated by mining-era saloons and houses of ill repute. For more information, visit Helena, MT.