Physician (Supervisory/Pain Management)

Summary The VA Puget Sound Healthcare System is recruiting for one Supervisory Pain Management Physician to perform duties and render care primarily at the VA Medical Center in Seattle, WA. This Supervisory Pain Management Physician position is located at VA Puget Sound, a two divisional university-affiliated teaching and research Medical Center with Pain Clinic locations at Seattle and American Lake in Tacoma, but also serves our outlying Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Learn more about this agency Duties The Pain Medicine Specialist is responsible for meeting access, quality, efficiency, satisfaction and other standards of performance. The incumbent will consistently make and implement sound and reasonable patient care and consulting decisions and provide leadership within the pain care team. Duties will include, but are not limited to, all aspects of evaluation of current medical problems; assisting in the development and implementation of new Pain Clinic programs, patient care, education, research programs, functional rehabilitation programs; administrative duties; and educational support as detailed below. Duties may include but are not limited to: Completes detailed history and physical exams, as well as health inventories, orders and interprets diagnostic studies and prescribes appropriate medication and other treatment modalities. Develops, evaluates and manages medical treatment plans intended to achieve defined outcomes that improve the patient's quality of life as part of a coordinated multidisciplinary treatment team focused on safe and sustainable chronic pain care and functional restoration of patients living with chronic pain. Demonstrates expertise in diagnosing and treating complex chronic pain problems and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Consistently makes and implements sound and reasonable decisions and has responsibility for patient outcomes. Provides care management that includes timely, thorough, and efficient documentation & coordination. Orders, performs, reviews, analyzes and follows up on appropriate diagnostic/laboratory test results, including any registries necessary to monitor and support the patient's medication therapy, and communicates findings to patients and other providers, including additional surveillance and/or testing requirements necessary as per VA policy. Initiates consults as appropriate, follows the treatment plan of care, coordinates and discusses plan with other care providers and specialists as needed. Establishes and maintains contact with other care providers, specialists, pharmacy and ancillary staff as necessary within the facility and the private sector. Review non-VA records and updates CPRS and/or other electronic health records with outside records. Provides care in outpatient, inpatient and residential program settings and participates in the physician call pool. Provides consultation service locally and regionally (VISN) for providers working with complex chronic pain care. Performs suicide and opioid risk screenings and assessments. Treats inpatients and outpatients with chronic pain and provides opioid reduction, harm reduction, and opioid safety/Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) services as needed. Works collaboratively with the Pain Section Chief, hospital leaders, Service Line Leaders, and others in the planning and implementation of patient-centered, pain management & integrative/Whole Health initiatives and programs. Assists in the development, coordination and implementation of Pain Clinic workflows, programs, initiatives, and therapies. Provides supervision and training to rotating pain medicine and psychology trainees and newly hired staff. Completes, compiles, and reports records/data required by the facility, VISN, and others as requested. Aggregates and analyzes information for decision making as requested. Supports the Pain Clinic's clinical research and other scholarly endeavors. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. 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 Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Requirements Conditions of employment 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 dentification 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. 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. Additional Requirement: Must be board certified by primary specialty (e.g., the American Board of Anesthesiology), and Board Certified in Pain Medicine; or board eligible in the above. Active DEA license; candidates must already possess an active, unrestricted license or obtain prior to start date Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification is required. If selected for this position, per VHA Directive 1 177, you must possess current BCLS certification as you will provide direct clinical care to patients in this position. Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification is also required if you will direct moderate sedation for pain procedures to a small subset of pain clinic patients. Preferred Experience: Additional Board Certification in Addiction Medicine is strongly preferred; specialized experience in opioid use disorder/opioid safety without board certification may be considered. Strongly prefer experience with buprenorphine and other Medication Assisted Treatment modalities for opioid use disorder. 2+ years of clinical experience as a Pain Medicine Specialist after graduation from an ACGME-accredited pain fellowship. 2+ years of experience in a multidisciplinary pain clinic setting. Significant Pain-related academic experience involving learners/trainees. Quality Improvement/clinical research experience. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds), light carrying (under 15 pounds), use of fingers, both hands required, walking (<1 hour), standing (1 hour), repeated bending (<1 hour), ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, both eyes required, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted). Education 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, or Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate 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. Additional information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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