Physician (Chief- Neurosurgery)

The Michael E. DeBakey VAMC (MEDVAMC), one of the most complex facilities in the VHA, seeks an enthusiastic Board Certified physician in the subspecialty of Neurosurgery to serve as Chief, Neurosurgeon. Incumbent supervises an interdisciplinary team of ten (10) as well as oversight of students, residents, and fellows. This position reports directly to the Operative Care Line Executive.

MEDVAMC is interested in acquiring the employment of an experienced neurosurgical subspecialist, researcher, and educator. The applicant should have deep familiarity with neurosurgical anatomy and anatomy teaching expertise to be utilized in postgraduate resident level instruction, with an emphasis on spinal anatomy. The applicant should have experience in grant application, clinical outcomes research, clinical publication, and clinical publication reviewing.

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 49-54 days of annual paid time offer per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 10 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
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Subject to changed based on needs of the facility.
Call Coverage: Approximately 15-21 days/month (including weekends) based on clinic coverage.
Additional Benefits: VA offers a comprehensive benefits package. This link provides an overview of the benefits associated with a VA practice: VHA Physician Brochure.
Preferred Experience: The ideal candidate possess the following experience: Spine fellowship trained in complex spinal reconstruction and minimally invasive spine surgery; Fluent in Spanish.

Duties of he position include, but are not limited to:

Provide services of a Neurosurgery Staff Physician to patients in the Operative Care Line.
Triages, examines, diagnoses, resuscitates, stabilizes, treats or directs a course of treatment for a wide range of patients from the healthy young to the geriatric patient, or from seriously ill to the severely traumatized.
Examines patients and orders appropriate tests to evaluate patients, chief complaint and related complaints.
Ascertains medical needs and initiates action to provide needed services.
Coordinates admission of patient to hospital with accepting staff physician.
Performs authorized procedures such as Lumbar puncture, Tracheostomy (emergency), Incision and drainage simple abscesses, Suturing of lacerations, Closed cardiac massage, Endotracheal intubation, Use of surgical laser, Craniotomies, Aneurysms, AVMs, Tumors, Trauma, Infection-Hemorrhage, Transsphenoidals, Stereotaxic procedures, Biopsy, Lesions, Implants, Laminectomies, Decompression and disk, Tumors-infection, Anterior spine procedures, & Decompression and disk, Fusion.
Provides professional guidance and direction to neurosurgery residents, medical students, physician assistants and physician assistant students working in Neurosurgery.
U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
Designated and/or random drug testing required
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
You may be required to serve a probationary period
Subject to a background/security investigation
Must be proficient in written and spoken English
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
Must pass pre-employment physical examination
Board Certified in Neurosurgery
BLS/ACLS Certified through the American Heart Association

Qualifications

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.
Board Certified in Neurosurgery.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-2 Physician Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: VA Directive and Handbook 5019, applicants must be able to perform the duties as a Physician. Light lifting (under 15lbs), light carrying (under 15lbs), use of fingers, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other, hearing (aid permitted), emotional stability, mental stability.