Summary

The Iowa City Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS) - is seeking a Pain Medical Director for a full-time appointment at the Rehabilitation and Extended Care service line. The physician will serve as a clinical leader providing comprehensive - multidisciplinary pain care - program development - and medical leadership.

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: Pain provider with more than 2 years' experience in interventions
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers
• This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest
• As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care - you will operate in a model with three core elements - seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran
• This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community
• This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being
• Duties/Responsibilities of the Physician: Work closely with the pain team to provide safe and effective - multidisciplinary pain management and mitigate the risk for patients receiving chronic opioid therapy
• The physician will be a clinical leader on the team and will develop individualized pain treatment plans for complex chronic pain patients
• Patients initiating treatment in the clinic may have high risk opioid regiments and the treatment plan will integrate risk mitigation strategies - treatment of Opioid Use Disorder if present and optimization of non-opioid pain medications and nonpharmacologic therapies
• Perform interventional pain management procedures under fluoroscopic guidance including: cervical - thoracic - lumbar and sacral epidural steroid injections
• cervical - thoracic and lumbar facet/nerve block/median branch blocks
• intercostal/paravertebral nerve blocks
• sacroiliac joint injections
• radio frequency ablations
• lumbar/thoracic paravertebral sympathetic blocks
• trigger point injections and piriformis injections
• stellate ganglion blocks
• occipital nerve blocks
• ilioinguinal or genitofemoral nerve blocks
• spinal cord stimulator trial/follow-up and maintenance of intrathecal pain pump maintenance/follow up
• Ultrasound guided peripheral nerve blocks or injections of head/neck and extremities
• Develop and implement treatment recommendations for pain syndrome diagnoses
• Will collaborate with staff in surgery/anesthesia and radiology departments regarding scheduling and performing interventional pain management procedures
• Physician will be skilled at diagnosing Opioid Use Disorder and providing medication assisted therapy with Suboxone
• Collaborate with other team members to develop and implement an integrated pain management approach that maximizes the utilization of complementary and integrative health therapies and active pain management strategies to improve the overall health and functioning of patients
• The development of integrated pain management program will result in complete integration of pain management services with Whole Health programming resulting in holistic - multimodal pain care
• Provide at times care via multiple modalities - including VA Video Connect (VVC) along with Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) besides face-to-face services to patients as needed to deliver pain management services across the entire healthcare system
• Team with PMT members to perform proactive medical record reviews of patients at risk of opioid-related side effects and provide recommendations to primary care providers to enhance the effectiveness and safety of pain care
• Data-Based Opioid Risk Reviews using the STORM and/or other databases will be performed on patients falling into higher risk categories for opioid misuse and overdose
• Prescribe buprenorphine and related products for Opioid Use Disorder or chronic pain when appropriate
• Comply with all electronic medical record policies and procedures Complete and sign all electronic medical records and all orders prior to the completion of each duty shift
• Consistent with current medical staff by-laws
• Physician will work within his/her privileges at all times - unless necessitated by an emergency
• 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 annual paid time offer 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 Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am-4:30pm
• Alternative work hours - if desired - should be agreed upon at the time of hire.