Summary

Reports to the Chief of Nephrology. Provides clinical coverage of patient services as either a primary provider or in a consultative role. Responsible for educating residents and students as a primary teaching site for the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix - for both the Internal Medicine Residency and Medical School Clerkship. Functions within interdisciplinary teams (including Pharmacists - Social Workers - and Nutrition) to coordinate care for inpatients and outpatients.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified 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
• The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed
• Current - full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State - Territory - or Commonwealth of the United States - or in the District of Columbia
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training - approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification
• (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) - b) OR [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) -OR (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States) - which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences
• Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs)
• PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e. - not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis
• PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged
• rather - they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision
• Additionally - surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs
• Proficiency in spoken and written English
• Preferred Experience: The candidate should be board certified or board eligible in Nephrology
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5019/1 - Part II - Pre-Placement Physical Examination and Evaluation.

Duties

• VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package
• VHA Physician Total Rewards
• Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be eligible for highly qualified candidate
• 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 Major duties include but not limited to the following: Collaborates to ensure that all applicable clinical functions - which include inpatient care - outpatient care - and consultative medicine - are performed
• Tasked with providing timely and courteous service to all Veterans seeking care and clinical documentation is made readily available to the referring practitioners
• Perform procedures as indicated by training and credentials as applicable - with appropriate oversight of medical residents per ACGME guidelines
• Provide consultation to medical patients from the Emergency Department - Renal Clinic - Inpatient setting - Outpatient setting - Community Living Center - and Dialysis Unit
• Expected that the Nephrologist share weekend and holiday on-call coverage on the Nephrology service
• Provides direct professional Nephrology services to patients in both the inpatient and outpatient setting
• Evaluates and treats patients with known or suspected renal disease
• Develops treatment plans to include but not limited to: dialysis (both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis - continuous renal replacement therapy - slow low efficiency dialysis) - rounds on hospitalized patients - attending in the Renal Clinic - writing of patient related orders and writing prescription medications - writing for consultative services - diet instruction - and other physician driven or exclusive decisions
• Provides on-call coverage on an as-needed basis during normal working hours - holidays - nights and weekends - as agreed upon by the nephrologists
• Provides medical and technical support and supervision to any Medicine residents and/or students
• Provides and/or participates in the resident didactic and clinical care education program for any residents - students - or clinical staff of the Phoenix VA Health Care System
• Provides both medical and technical support - as applicable - to RNs - LPNs - Health Technicians - PA-Cs and NPs.