Physician (Chief Hospitalist)

<p>This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.</p><h3>Major Duties</h3><p>The Chief Hospitalist is a clinical leadership position that interfaces with the medical center's administrative leadership and works in close collaboration with other clinical services. The Chief Hospitalist guides acceptable evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, remains current in scientific medical advancements and state of the art medical practices, and provides oversight and mentoring to at least four (4) full-time hospitalists. S/he follows appropriate ethical principles, code of conduct, policies and protocols defined by the organization. This position leads the acute medicine service in the Medicine Directorate of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois. FHCC is larger than just a single facility, but rather a system of facilities throughout Northeastern Illinois which provide medical and dental services to U.S. Military Active Duty, Recruits, Veterans, and eligible beneficiaries. The Chief Hospitalist has a broad range of authority with the responsibility for setting the direction of the service, direction and supervision of the hospitalist staff, maintaining professional standards, maintaining quality control standards, identifying quality improvement opportunities and participating in provider patient care and consultation. S/he serves as clinical authority for professional, licensed, and certified hospitalist staff. S/he must demonstrate skills in exercising a high degree of initiative, judgment, discretion, and decision-making to achieve organizational objectives including ensuring that high quality care is provided consistently. S/he will be a point of contact for physicians and clinical staff assigned to the unit for clinical and process guidance. This will include, but is not limited to, training, documentation, process workflow and other functionality regarding necessary clinical systems. This individual will work with nurse manager, staff and physicians to optimize the usage of clinical systems through education and training, quality and outcomes, and providing support in accordance with organizational goals. S/he will work closely with hospital staff, department directors, and physicians to ensure that the highest standards of quality and services are maintained. This individual will also work directly with all levels of the organization on projects, committees and teams to meet the overall needs of the unit and the facility. Major Duties: -Provide direct care of acute medicine patients and consultative General Medicine care to patients on other services (at least 70% of the time). -Recruit and hire for all hospitalist positions. -Staff and schedule of hospitalist services. -Supervise, manage and execute performance evaluation of hospitalists. Participate in Peer Review, staff counseling, and other quality assurance efforts. -Work with facility leadership on strategic planning and implementation related to acute medicine. -Collaborate with nurse manager and other departments to optimize quality of care, efficiency, and inpatient satisfaction. -Monitor quality of care parameters for inpatient care. Develop and implement inpatient quality improvement projects. -Monitor SAIL measures and implement corrective action, as needed. -Improve efficiency and productivity throughout the unit. -Chair the Patient Flow Committee. -Teach residents and medical students. -Implement, manage and participate in education programs for the inpatient unit personnel. -Update and develop inpatient policies and procedures. Chief Hospitalist may be assigned to perform other duties by Medicine Directorate leadership or Deputy Chief of Staff. The Chief Hospitalist will have 30% of time for administrative duties, however, administrative time may flex depending on staffing and/or on strategic priorities. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment) Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact vha.elrsprogramsupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more. 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 restriction on moonlighting VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.</p><h3>Requirements</h3>U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.<h3>Education</h3>Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are: Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year graduated. NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.