Clarification from the agency

All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This position is being announced as an interdisciplinary, and can be filled by a Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, or Physician, which have their own respective announcement.

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Clinical Responsibilities (50% of time):

• Provide medical care and evaluation for psychiatry outpatients in outpatient clinics. These patients often have concomitant medical problems and are multi-symptomatic. The PA shall perform the following duties:
• Conduct initial psychiatric evaluations, including initial assessment interviews, history, and physical exams; lab, imaging, medication and psychotherapy consultation orders, aftercare plans and follow up visits. Following the initial evaluation, the PA will provide appropriate follow up care including reassessments of diagnoses and conditions, medication adjustments, and any further tests or consults indicated.
• Provide mental health education /counseling and brief therapy of patients and their families.
• Conduct ongoing follow up appointments for stable patients, including regular refills of medications, required lab and other tests and documenting progress.
• Perform examinations and screening scales (such as AIMS, MoCA, HAM-D) and similar noninvasive examinations specific to the ongoing care of psychiatric patients.
• Order appropriate laboratory tests, imaging studies, EKGs (electrocardiograms), and similar noninvasive tests.
• Initiate and expedite consultation requests and scheduling of special tests and studies.
• Hold scheduled appointments for outpatients to observe and record patients' medical progress, and notify the supervising physician of significant changes in patients' condition.
• Provide education and counseling of the patient and the patient's family in preventive care, medical conditions, and the use of prescribed treatments and medications.
• Perform preventive health activities.
• Order appropriate prosthetic devices and medical equipment.
• Record notes on all procedures performed for which the PA is responsible.
• Recommend ECT, rTMS, or esketamine if appropriate.
• Perform rTMS and esketamine.
• Case management.
• Perform treatment planning in an outpatient setting.
• Integrate the activities of the psychiatry clinic with other patient care programs at the facility.
• Evaluate outside consultations presenting to the mental health clinic and determine the appropriate disposition, routing, and urgency of those consults.

• General supervisory duties of assigned staff, to include ePerformance reviews, maintaining eCompetency folders, monitoring required trainings as TMS supervisor, addressing FMLA/RA requests as indicated
• Coordinates coverage and leave planning among direct reports and between sections as applicable with appropriate input from team leads. Addressing leave requests and timecards in VATAS/GovTA. Tracking educational leave for each staff member reporting to them in real time.
• Routine clinic cancellation LEAFs first approval
• Callouts/Unplanned Sick Leave LEAFs clinical review
• Monitors individual labor mapping, grid management, scheduled clinic utilization, bookability, productivity/RVU targets, and other critical metrics for direct reports, with periodic updates reflecting adjustments to maximize patient access
• Addresses change of provider requests and open encounter follow up of assigned staff
• Participates in leadership meetings, serves on committees and/or workgroups as assigned
• Responds to customer service concerns (PATS-R), patient safety reports (JPSR), and associated required reporting as assigned
• Engages in quality improvement across the service as assigned, aligning efforts to strategic goals and clinical quarterly metrics (SAIL, etc)
• Encourages and fosters team and recovery-oriented care for Veterans using individual and group rounding
• Highlights areas within their team applicable to All Employee Survey goals and submits contributions as assigned
• Responsively tracks and manages ongoing professional practice evaluations biannually for assigned staff
• Administers all service level actions in recruitment and onboarding process for medical staff vacancies in their service area. Coordinates with Team Leads on orientation of new medical staff

Conditions of employment

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• 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

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Physician Assistant Basic Requirements

• Master's degree in any discipline or a bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant ~AND~
• Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam) ~AND~
• Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia.

1. Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.
2. Ability to perform patient history and physical.
3. Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.
4. Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.

1. Two years of successful practice as a PA.
2. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency.
3. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

1. Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
2. Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
3. Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
4. Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
5. Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

1. Three years of successful practice as a PA.
2. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA.
3. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA.

1. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
2. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).
3. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
4. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel.
5. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes.
6. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.