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Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/02/2026 to 03/06/2026
Salary
$89,508 to - $116,362 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
FEW vacancies in the following location:
Fort Smith, AR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
5F-AFPC-12900091-131784-CDA
Control number
859423500

Duties

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The Primary purpose of this position is: To function as a credentialed health care provider, privileged by the facility credentials function, who uses critical judgement to preform comprehensive health assessments, formulate differential diagnosis, and prescribe pharmacologic treatments in direct management of acute and chronic illness and disease to male and female patients of all ages (to include pediatric and geriatric) in small, medium, and large sized general clinics and hospitals. Promotes wellness and prevents illness and injury.

DUTIES:

  • Serves as the Primary Care Manager (PCM)/team leader providing comprehensive outpatient care for both male and female TRICARE Prime enrolled beneficiaries as well as TRICARE for Life and space available beneficiaries, ranging in age from newborn to geriatric, presenting with complex and interdependent, acute and chronic conditions.
  • Provides direction to other non-physician providers such as Independent Duty Medical Technicians and students assigned to the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) as well as nursing and paraprofessional staff in care of patients with urgent, emergent, and non-urgent medical problems.
  • Serves as member of the professional medical staff and complies with hospital plans and policies to meet accrediting agencies' (AAAHC or TJC) requirements.
  • Participates in local disaster training exercises as directed by the Chief of the Medical Staff (SGH) or Medical Group Commander; responds to real-world disaster situations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Males must be registered for Selective Service, see www.sss.gov
  • If authorized, PCS will be paid IAW JTR and AF Regulations. If receiving an authorized PCS, you may be subject to completing/signing a CONUS agreement. More information on PCS requirements, may be found at: https://afciviliancareers.com/regulatory/
  • This position is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
  • Employee must maintain current certifications
  • Disclosure of Political Appointments
  • Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period.
  • Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
  • At a minimum, qualification requirements stipulated by the US Office of Personnel Management for the 0603 occupational series must be met.
  • Two (2) years of recent experience in Family Medicine is desired.
  • Must possess a current Basic Life Support (BLS) certificate.
  • This position has been identified as having "regular contact with children" requiring a criminal history background check to be completed IAW DOD guidance on any person selected for the position.
  • This position is included in the Hospital Employee Health Program and the Tuberculosis (TB) Surveillance examination program.
  • Incumbent may share on-call duty during weeknights and/or weekends on a rotational basis as required consistent with other providers of the same specialty performing like duties.
  • Completion of appropriate clinical and administrative duties may involve “after hours” care or work in addition to regular clinic hours.
  • Work may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station on military or commercial aircraft.
  • Must maintain privileges through the Credentials office by the employing Medical Treatment Facility.
  • Must obtain and maintain a Secret Security clearance.
  • This position requires a pre-employment physical/medical examination
  • Continued Below:

Qualifications

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT CONTINUED:

  • This position has been designated by the Air Force as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the Air Force Civilian Drug Demand Reduction Program. Employee must pass initial and periodic short notice drug testing. Illegal drug use by employees in sensitive positions presents a clear threat to the mission of the Air Force, national security, and public safety.
In order to qualify, you must meet the SPECIALIZED experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Physician Assistant Series 0603 + IOR.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:

Graduation from a physician assistant educational program, accredited by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) or its predecessors, at a college, university, or educational institution that is accredited by an accrediting body or organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

AND
Successful completion of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) examination; must maintain status as a certified physician assistant, including completion of all requirements for Continuing Medical Education (CME) and re-certification.

Licensure: For all grade levels and positions, applicants must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a Physician Assistant from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-11, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes knowledge of, and skill in applying, a wide range of concepts, principles, practices, and processes of medical care, including physical and emotional assessment, establishment of health and medical treatment goals, construction and implementation of the care program, evaluation of the results, and health care optimization to perform highly specialized assignments of an advanced nature and considerable difficulty; knowledge of TRICARE benefits and procedures for referring patients to community resources; skill in collecting, organizing, recording, and communicating, in a meaningful way, data relevant to primary health assessments including a detailed family and medical history, physical examination, and selected laboratory tests, as well as requisite knowledge to interpret special screening and developmental tests and selected laboratory findings. (NOTE: This same experience must be well-described in the application/resume that you complete and submit in addition to answering this questionnaire, and YOU MUST submit copies of your transcripts and license/registration.)

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
  1. Knowledge of Family Medicine practices, principles, and theories to carry full responsibility as a Primary Care Manager/team leader for medical care of a wide range of illnesses and injuries.
  2. Knowledge of clinical decision-making principles, population base management strategies, and principles of disease management through the use of clinical path guidelines and the community resource/referral system.
  3. Knowledge of a variety of pharmacological agents used in patient treatment and the desired effects, side effects, and complications of their use.
  4. Knowledge of universal infection control guidelines and practices and accrediting agencies' (e.g., AAAHC, TJC, HSI) medical practice standards.
  5. Skill in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide variety of diseases and medical conditions to include but not limited to: diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, cancer, extremity injuries, and psychiatric/psychological disorders.
  6. Ability to guide, train, and mentor paraprofessionals, clinical nurses, and ancillary support staff.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

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

Education

IF USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFY: If position has a positive degree requirement or education forms the basis for qualifications, you MUST submit transcriptswith the application. Official transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if position has a positive degree requirement, qualifying based on education alone or in combination with experience, transcripts must be verified prior to appointment. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click here to check accreditation.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

Additional information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click here. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated well qualified or above for this position. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information.

120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: MSP applicants, if determined best qualified, must be selected and placed at the highest grade for which they applied. You must include a completed copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click here to obtain/download a copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist.

Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicant Eligible: PPP Applicants, if determined well qualified and selected, will be placed at the at the full performance level. You must include the applicable completed copy of the PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility as a PPP Applicant. Click here to obtain/download a copy of the applicable PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD3145-1 through DD3145-4, select the appropriate checklist for your claimed preference). To determine the applicable PPP Self-Certification Checklist required to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming, refer to the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide located in the Required Documents section of this vacancy announcement.

Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.

Disabled veteran leave is available to a Federal employee hired on/after 5 Nov 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. For more information, click here.

If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

BASIS OF RATING:
Your application will be rated under the Cut Point procedures based on the extent to which the quality, depth, and complexity of your experience and education relate to the qualification requirements. Additional points are not added for Veteran's Preference; however, Veteran's Preference is considered where applicable.

Best Qualified Group: Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements
Fully Qualified Group: Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements.
Basically Qualified Group: Candidates in this category meet the minimum education and/or experience requirements.

The resume/documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.

For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here.

APPRAISALS/AWARDS: Hiring Managers use objective methods and consider previous performance appraisals and awards in the selection process. Current Federal Civilian employees should list any relevant performance related rating and/or awards in your resume.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

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