Position Information 

The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS), is seeking a Chief for our Spinal Cord Injury (SCI/D) Service. This Service is a designated Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders (SCI/D) Center, which serves Veterans and active duty personnel with SCI/D in San Diego and Imperial Counties, Arizona, and Southern Nevada. The SCI/D Center is the primary SCI/D consultation and referral center for the Prescott, Tucson, and Phoenix VA facilities. We are currently recruiting for a distinguished clinician with demonstrated leadership experience to be our next SCI/D Chief. This recruitment comes at a time when we have received approval to construct a new state of the art facility to house our SCI/D program. With construction beginning in 2019-2020, this will be an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to guide the evolution and continued excellence of our programs. VASDHS is also closely affiliated with the University of California, San Diego which is recognized as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation by “US News & World Report.” 

Major duties of the Chief SCI/D include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provides direct leadership, programmatic management, and administrative oversight to the SCI/D Service and its staff. Directs and coordinates the medical care of patients with SCI/D. Establishes guidelines, policies and procedures for the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with SCI/D. Serves as the Chief Medical Officer for admission screening and discharge planning.
• Works in conjunction with SCI/D Physician Assistants in the daily medical management of patients with SCI/D admitted for acute rehabilitation, annual SCI/D evaluations, acute medical or surgical care, or respite care. This includes daily rounds, documents of progress notes as outlined in the VASDHS Plan for Provision of Care, management of weekly Interdisciplinary Team conferences, referral for appropriate medical specialty consultations, and overall management of the delivery of SCI/D care to each patient.
• Sees patients with SCI/D in the SCI Outpatient Clinic and may provide primary medical care for a panel of eligible patients in the outpatient setting. This includes outpatient Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) rehabilitation patients with SCI/D and serves as the Rehab Team Leader, working closely with the SCI Outpatient CARF Case Manager and other identified team members.
• Promotes expansion of and utilizes SCI/D telehealth services as appropriate for inpatient and outpatient care such as admission and discharge hand-offs, family/team conferences, home telehealth care, clinical video telehealth care, etc.
• Ensures visits from SCI/D Center (Hub) to the SCI/D Spokes in Arizona are conducted to maintain standards of practice through the continuum of care of patients with SCI/D. Key aspects of SCI/D care at the Spokes are evaluated (access to care, accessibility, resources, staffing, equipment, etc.) to facilitate the coordination of care between the SCI/D Hub and Spokes and, if needed, provides suggestions for improvement.
• Develops, implements, and maintains a program of research that addresses topics of importance to patients with SCI/D. Actively participates in identification of avenues of novel SCI/D research as well as design of appropriate methodology and analytical approaches. Facilitates translation of research findings into improved patient outcomes.
• Participates in patient and staff education and peer review. Completes quarterly physician quality review audits (six charts per quarter) which specifically look at entering progress notes, discharge summaries, discharge instructions, clinical reminders, and Admission H&Ps in a timely manner.
• Reviews performance data, stakeholder information, any new SCI/D Program, and VA-wide strategic initiatives to formulate strategic planning for SCI Service in the form of long-term goals and initiatives pertinent to the care of patients with SCI/D. Determines if any issues, trends, challenges, etc. need to be addressed in the strategic plans.
• Serves as a key clinical resource for the VASDHS Director and Chief of Staff and is part of the clinical leadership team of the VASDHS.

Work Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Tour of duty may be discussed upon selection. Night, holiday, and weekend work may be required, serving as the primary physician on-call for 1 week every 4th week (as part of the shared call schedule with the three other SCI physicians) to cover the patients admitted to the SCI Service. On-call duty is localized on pager with daily rounds on the assigned weekends and holidays. Chief of SCI may be expected to travel for this position. 

*Must be a Citizen of the United States

*Must be proficient in written and spoken English

*Must have current, full and unrestricted U.S. state license to practice medicine

*Residency Training in Internal Medicine, Neurology & Physiatry (PM&R), with Board Certification

*Fellowship Training in Spinal Cord Injury Disorders (SCI/D) or similar training

*Meet requirements to obtain and maintain academic appointment with our affiliate university, University of California San Diego (UCSD). 

Community Information

California's second largest city and the United States' eighth largest, San Diego boasts a citywide population of nearly 1.3 million residents and more than 3 million residents countywide. Within its borders of 4,200 sq. miles, San Diego County encompasses 18 incorporated cities and numerous other charming neighborhoods and communities, including downtown's historic Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Escondido, La Mesa, Hillcrest, Barrio Logan and Chula Vista just to name a few.

San Diego is renowned for its idyllic climate, 70 miles of pristine beaches and a dazzling array of world-class family attractions. Popular attractions include the world-famous San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, SeaWorld San Diego and LEGOLAND California. San Diego offers an expansive variety of things to see and do, appealing to guests of all ages from around the world. 

In San Diego's East County, the terrain varies from gentle foothills to mile-high mountains and the historic mining town, Julian, down to the 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, offering nature-conscious visitors endless opportunities to hike, camp, fish, observe wildlife and much more. In San Diego's North County, the agricultural community produces quantities of flowers and magnificent produce. Wine growers are also making a mark by growing and harvesting quality grapes that become excellent wines, which are served at some of the most elegant restaurants and resorts in the region. Along the west, 70 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline not only supports year-round outdoor recreation, such as surfing, boating, sailing and swimming, but also important scientific research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. To the south, it's a whole different country, Mexico, featuring its own cultural offerings in various towns along the border and coastline, including Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada. 

San Diego's arts and culture and culinary arts are booming. The hottest, new culinary arts talents prepare award-winning meals throughout the region's 6,400 eating establishments. Balboa Park, the largest urban cultural park in the U.S., is home to 15 museums, numerous art galleries, beautiful gardens, the Tony Award-winning The Globe Theatres and the world-famous San Diego Zoo. 

San Diego County also features 92 golf courses and a variety of exciting participatory and spectator sports, beachfront resorts and luxury spas, gaming, a dynamic downtown district, annual special events and unique holiday offerings, multicultural festivals and celebrations, colorful neighborhoods and communities, a rich military history and much more. 

Benefits and Features

Expected Salary range for well qualified BC Chief of Spinal Cord Injury, Physiatrist (PM&R) will range from $220,000.00 to $300,000.00 with possibility of Recruitment/Relocation Incentive for highly qualified candidate. The VA supports a healthy work-life-family balance by providing Staff with a robust benefits package and fosters an environment where more time is spent on medical practice and less on business tasks. VA does this by offering: Paid Time Off in the form of 26 Days paid annual leave, 13 Days paid sick leave per year, 10 Federal holidays with pay, and 5-Day paid absence to attend approved CME courses. Insurance to include Health-Dental-Vision care insurance programs to choose from with premiums partially paid by VA; Flexible Spending Accounts; Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government; and Long-term care insurance available as an option. Federal Retirement Plan thru the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) - A three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits; 2) FERS-FRAE basic benefits (pension); and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan. 

About the VA 

Department of Veterans Affairs offers Veterans the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the United States. We operate more than 1,400 sites of care, including 153 medical centers, 909 ambulatory and community-based outpatient clinics, 135 nursing homes, 232 Veterans centers, 47 readjustment counseling centers, and 108 comprehensive home-care programs, across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. 

To Explore This Physician Opportunity Further 

Email copy of your CV & Cover Letter to Henry "Hank" Laguatan, VA National Healthcare Recruitment Consultant