Summary The Chief, Surgical Service provides executive leadership, direction, and oversight for all clinical and administrative aspects of the Surgical Service to ensure safe, timely, high-quality, veteran-centered surgical care. The position aligns surgical operations with the VHA mission, facility strategic goals, and high-reliability principles, and ensures compliance with VHA policy, facility bylaws, and applicable regulatory and accreditation standards. Responsibilities VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive/Relocation (Sign-on Bonus): May be eligible to highly qualified applicants Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): PCS Authorized 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/Responsibilities: The Chief Surgical Service provides executive leadership and oversight for all clinical and administrative aspects ,ensuring high-quality, compliant, Veteran-centered surgical care. Clinical and Operational Leadership Provides leadership and management for all surgical specialties and subspecialties within the Surgical Service, including inpatient, outpatient, and procedural settings. Ensures appropriate surgical coverage and staffing models, including call schedules and contingency plans for urgent and emergent cases. Promotes coordinated, multidisciplinary pre-operative optimization and post-operative management to support safe transitions of care. Quality, Safety, and Performance Improvement Leads quality improvement and patient safety activities for surgical care, including monitoring and improving key performance indicators (e.g., complications, readmissions, surgical site infections, return to OR, mortality, timeliness of care). Establishes and sustains data-driven performance improvement programs and reviews trends from national and local surgical quality initiatives (e.g., NSQIP or equivalent). Supports a culture of safety, transparency, and continuous learning, including reporting and analysis of adverse events and close calls. Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Systems Integration Collaborates closely with Perioperative leadership, Anesthesiology, Medicine, Primary Care, Rehabilitation, Radiology, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Sterile Processing, and Nursing leadership to ensure integrated surgical care across the continuum. Provides expert input to facility committees on surgical program development, technology acquisition, capital planning, and high-reliability organization efforts. Coordinates with other VA facilities and community partners as needed for surgical referrals, shared care, and programmatic collaborations approved by leadership. Human Resources Management and Education Ensures providers are appropriately credentialed and privileged in accordance with VHA policy and medical staff bylaws, rules, and regulations. Recruits, selects, and retains qualified surgeons, advanced practice providers, and other assigned staff in collaboration with service and facility leadership. Conducts or oversees performance appraisals, ongoing and focused professional practice evaluations, competency assessments, and professional development plans for Surgical Service staff. Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, and Preparedness Ensures Surgical Service compliance with applicable VHA directives, national standards, and accreditation and regulatory requirements related to surgery, moderate/deep sedation, blood management, and sterile processing. Oversees processes for informed consent, pre-procedure verification, surgical site marking, time-out procedures, and surgical safety checklists. Collaborates with infection prevention, risk management, and patient safety programs to address surgical adverse events and implement corrective actions. Scope of Authority Exercises authority over clinical and administrative operations of the Surgical Service within the framework of VHA policy, facility bylaws, and delegated authority from the Chief of Staff. Makes recommendations regarding hiring, privileging, promotion, reassignment, and disciplinary actions for assigned Surgical Service staff. Manages or co-manages resources related to surgical services, including allocation of surgical FTE, equipment, and programmatic funds in collaboration with facility leadership. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm 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. Preferred Experience/Characteristics: Board certification in a surgical specialty, with an active, unrestricted medical license Prior experience as divisional chief, section chief, medical director, or chief of surgery. Demonstrated success in prior leadership roles (chair, division chief, program director, or medical director), including evaluation of physicians and clinical performance. Demonstrated experience with OR scheduling and block management, case prioritization for Veterans, coordination with nursing/sterile processing, and ensuring coverage across regular and off-tour hours. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Functional Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds, Light carrying, under 15 pounds, Both hands required, Walking (1 hours),Standing (3 hours), Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, Hearing (aid may be permitted). Environmental Factors: Working closely with others, Working alone, Protracted or irregular hours of work 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.

Job #NLX291628029