Physician (Deputy Chief of Staff)

Summary

The Deputy Chief of Staff position reports to the Chief of Staff. The incumbent has overall responsibility for performance improvement with supervisory responsibility for any clinical services/programs as determined by the facility Medical Center Director and/or Chief of Staff for the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System.

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Duties

The Deputy Chief of Staff is a key advisor to the Chief of Staff and Director on clinical issues and assists in the administration and oversight of clinical, educational and research programs. With the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff provides oversight and guidance to the clinical operations of VA Loma Linda Healthcare System. This includes assisting the clinical services in the coordination and delivery of high quality care, maximizing budgetary and operational efficiency, ensuring policy and regulatory compliance, and resolving professional staff matters. The focus of the position is to optimize quantitative assessment of patient care delivery and systems management in support of the facility mission and goals.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Relocation or Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Authorized

Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not 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

The Deputy Chief of Staff is a member of the senior management team and is a key advisor to the Chief of Staff and Director on clinical issues and assists in the administration and oversight of clinical, educational and research programs. With the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff provides oversight and guidance to the clinical operations of VA Loma Linda Healthcare System. This includes assisting the clinical services in the coordination and delivery of high quality care, maximizing budgetary and operational efficiency, ensuring policy and regulatory compliance, and resolving professional staff matters.

Duties include but not limited to the following:

• Assure VA Loma Linda Healthcare System-wide education/deployment of systems redesign and performance improvement methodology; assist management to prepare and execute training, assessment and application of these methodologies.
• Utilize analytic tools such as DSS and other databases to provide data to management for strategic and operative planning and employ such data to create white papers that guide management decisions.
• Coordinate institutional compliance with external accrediting organizations, e.g., JCAHO, CARF, etc.
• Plan and execute clinical application development to meet patient care needs and in keeping with the operational strategic priorities.
• Utilize data about target population and available resources, assist in the formulation of strategic short term and long-range plans and goals for the clinical components of the medical center.
• Provide leadership and backup to the Chief of Staff in areas applicable to the medical staff, including, but not limited to:
• Serving as a member of key medical center managerial bodies. Serving as a member of the organized medical staff.
• Attending meetings of the Medical Executive Council and helping to ensure adherence to the bylaws and rules and regulations.
• Working with other health care professional to establish policies so that all health care professionals practice within the scope of their licenses.
• Consulting in developing and maintaining an adequate medical record system.
• Chair the Professional Standards Board, Medical Executive Council, and Peer Review Committees in the absence of the Chief of Staff.
• Provide supervision to certain additional clinical services to be determined in conjunction with the Chief of Staff upon recruitment.
• Serve as Acting Chief of Staff in the absence of the Chief of Staff.
• Participates in selection of key staff members.
  

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, PST

Telework: Ad-hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• 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).
  
  

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:

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  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
• 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: LDI or HCLDP Graduate; Clinical Service/Section Chief for 2-5 Years; 10 Years of VHA Experience.



Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.



Physical Requirements: Moderate Lifting, 15-44 pounds; Light Carrying, under 15 pounds; Use of fingers; Walking - 2 hours; Standing - 2 hours; Near vison correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; Far vison correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other eye; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Hearing (aid permitted); Mental/Emotional Stability required; Working Closely with Others; Working Alone

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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