VA Medical Director for Primary Care

Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) in scenic - sunny Tucson, Arizona is currently looking for a Medical Director for Primary Care.

 Dedicated to Patient-Centered Care, the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) is a state-of-the-art network of health care facilities throughout Southern Arizona comprised of the medical center in Tucson, Arizona and seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Through an environment of compassion, education, and research, SAVAHCS is a national model of clinical and organizational excellence.

 Position Information:

The Clinic Medical Director reports to Primary Care Leadership regularly for quality improvement progress, while also providing direct medical care to veterans.

This position will work out of the Main Campus location in Tucson, AZ.

 The successful candidate will work closely with Chief and Assistant Chiefs of Primary Care. The key responsibilities of the Medical Director are to:

(1) oversee medical and provider personnel and operations, including supervising all providers, ensuring risk management and quality of care, and developing and implementing all other medical aspects of the clinic operations;
(2) provide leadership and organization to implement Primary Care Service goals and objectives for medical and clinical operations; and
(3) provide strategic input into the planning and evaluation process for the organization. The medical director works closely with clinic and nurse managers (TRIAD Model) in developing and implementing the overall clinic services, operations, and objectives.

Duties:

• 80% clinical and 20% administrative duties.
• Supervises physicians, mid-level practitioners and other health care providers as assigned.
• Plans, implements, directs, and evaluates the activities of the Clinic Providers, including requirements for staff, budget, equipment, and supplies.
• Conducts the programs through assistance of subordinates but is ultimately responsible for the success and the fulfillment of the overall vision and mission of the program.
• Conducts staff meetings and coordinates in-service/training for clinical employees.
• Ensures performance measures and productivity standards are met for Primary Care.
• Collaborates with Clinic Nurse Managers, MSA Supervisor/Office Managers, to ensure necessary actions are taken to meet performance measures and productivity standards.
• Develops, reviews, and implements clinic policies and procedures as needed with final approval from the Chief of PCCCS. Trains clinic and ancillary staff on the new policies and procedures as effective and efficiently as possible.
• Reviews Veteran complaints, investigate, delegate, and summarize cohesive response along with the Clinic and Nurse Managers.
• Provides comprehensive and quality clinical care to a panel of adult patients.
• Provides direct patient care to optimize patient health, including ordering diagnostic testing, prescribing medication including contraceptive medication, consulting with specialty services, and utilizing computerized/electronic medical records.
• Provides patient care in accordance with professional standards, core values and commitment to service excellence.

Requirements:

• US Citizen
• Must have an active and unrestricted license in any of the US States
• Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine
• Residency Training in Family Medicine or Internal Medicine in any of the US States
• Work Schedule:Four 10-hour shifts between Monday - Friday, 6:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
• Eligible to compressed/flexible Work Schedule
• Not a telework eligible position.
• Preferred Experience: Board certified or board eligible in Internal Medicine/Family Practice by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) or America Board of Family Practice (ABFM).

The VA Medical Center located at Tucson, Arizona 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 and one county in Western New Mexico. This 295-bed hospital provides training, primary care, and sub-specialty health care in numerous medical areas for eligible Veterans. It is a state-of-the-art network of health care facilities throughout 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 physician and associated health trainees participate in health care training programs at SAVAHCS.

Benefits

In addition to the honor of serving America’s Heroes, VHA offers exceptional benefits:

Total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

• Flexible work schedules and shifts
• Salary - $256,000 - $266,000/year
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Approved
• Low patient-provider ratios
• Robust insurance coverage
• The ability to work anywhere in the country with one active license.??  
• Stable employment with competitive salary and regular pay increases
• This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP),a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
• Liability Protection: VA physicians are covered under federal tort laws and may be defended by the United States against allegations of malpractice or negligence.

• Health insurance: With Federal Employees Health Benefits, choose from a variety of self or family health maintenance organizations and are entitled to a partial government contribution in proportion to the number of hours you are scheduled to work in a pay period.
• Dental and vision insurance: Under the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, supplemental dental and/or vision benefits are available to you and your family.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Allows you to save money for health care expenses with a Health Care or Limited Expense Health Care FSA. Think of it as a savings account that helps you pay for items that typically aren’t covered by your FEHB Plan, the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, or other health insurance coverage.
• Life insurance: Plan for what’s next with Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, which is group term life insurance covering you and eligible family members.
• Survivor benefits: Become eligible for survivor benefits after 10 years of service.
• Pension: Your basic annuity is computed based on your length of service and “high-3” average salary and become vested in the Federal Employee Retirement System, Basic/Defined Benefit pension after only five years of creditable civilian service.
• Thrift Savings Plan (Federal 401k Equivalent) 5 % agency match: TSP lets you contribute up to $23,000 a year to your account. Become vested after only 3 years of creditable civilian service.
• Annual Leave (Paid Time Off): 1 hour of annual leave for each 10 hours in a pay status with a max carryover of 240 hours. 1 hour of sick leave for each 20 hours in a pay status (no limit) and 11 paid federal holidays accrue right away.
• Credit for military service: Have you earned service credits from your time in military service? Don’t worry — if you move to a federal job at VA, you may carry over service time that is added to your total years of work for retirement purposes. 
• Service without strings: Whether you serve full or part-time, your employment at VA is “at will” and without employment contracts, non-compete clauses, restrictive covenants, or other significant restrictions on outside work.

If you are interested in rewarding career at the Veterans Health Administration at Tucson, Arizona, please email your CV to virginia.deutsch@va.gov

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