Summary This full-time, Section Chief Neurosurgery position is assigned to the Operative Care Line (OCL) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) in Houston, Texas, one of the most complex facilities in the VA healthcare system. MEDVAMC is interested in acquiring the employment of an experienced neurosurgical subspecialist, researcher, and educator. Learn more about this agency Help Overview * Accepting applications * Open & closing dates 08/30/2024 to 09/13/2024 * Salary $330,000 - $400,000 per year Education and length of practice are considered through a formal pay-setting process to determine the final compensable salary (Base Pay + Market Pay) * Pay scale & grade VM 15 * Help Location 1 vacancy in the following location: * Houston, TX * Remote job No * Telework eligible No * Travel Required Not required * Relocation expenses reimbursed No * Appointment type Permanent * Work schedule Full-time * Service Excepted * Promotion potential None * Job family (Series) * 0602 Medical Officer * Supervisory status Yes * Security clearance Not Required * Drug test Yes * Position sensitivity and risk Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk * Trust determination process * Credentialing * Suitability/Fitness * Financial disclosure No * Bargaining unit status No * Announcement number CBST-12533907-24-KH * Control number 807538500 Help This job is open to * The public U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S. 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. Videos Help Duties VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. 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 Duties include, but are not limited to: The applicant should have deep familiarity with neurosurgical anatomy and anatomy teaching expertise to be utilized in postgraduate resident level instruction, with an emphasis on spinal anatomy. The applicant should have experience in grant application, clinical outcomes research, clinical publication, and clinical publication reviewing. The applicant should be fellowship trained in Complex Spine Reconstruction surgery and Minimally Invasive Spinal surgery. Applicant also needs to be comfortable treating pathologies that pertains a fully trained Neurosurgery, including Brain and Spine pathology. Duties include clinic, surgical, training of neurosurgical residents at all levels, and call responsibilities. Applicant also needs to be comfortable treating pathologies that pertains a fully trained Neurosurgery, including Brain and Spine pathology. The candidate will participate in the conferences and interactions of the Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Provide services of a Neurosurgery Physician to patients in the Operative Care Line. Triages, examines, diagnoses, resuscitates, stabilizes, treats or directs a course of treatment for a wide range of patients from the healthy young to the geriatric patient, or from seriously ill to the severely traumatized. Examines patients and orders appropriate tests to evaluate patients, chief complaint and related complaints; ascertains medical needs and initiates action to provide needed services. Coordinates admission of patient to hospital with accepting staff physician. Performs authorized procedures such as Lumbar puncture, Tracheostomy (emergency), Incision and drainage simple abscesses, Suturing of lacerations, Closed cardiac massage, Endotracheal intubation, Use of surgical laser, Craniotomies, Aneurysms, AVM's, Tumors, Trauma, Infection-Hemorrhage, Transsphenoidals, Stereotaxic procedures, Biopsy, Lesions, Implants, Laminectomies, Decompression and disk, Tumors-infection, Anterior spine procedures, & Decompression and disk, Fusion. Provides professional guidance and direction to neurosurgery residents, medical students, physician assistants and physician assistant students working in Neurosurgery. Full privileges to manage all patients in the area of Neurosurgery that a fully trained specialist in this field would manage. Routine management of neurosurgery patients with a fully trained Orthopedist readily available for consultation. Special diagnostic and therapeutic procedures: * History and physical * Interpretation of x-rays * Interpretation of electrocardiogram with consultation * Craniotomies * Aneurysms * AVM's * Tumors * Trauma * Infection-Hemorrhage * Transsphenoidals * Stereotaxic procedures * Biopsy * Lesions * Implants with supervision * Laminectomies * Decompression and disk * Tumors-infection * AVMs * Biopsy * Fusion * Instrumentation * Anterior spine procedures * Decompression and disk * Fusion * Instrumentation * Tumor-infection * Vascular * Biopsy * Congenital abnormalities * Chiari malformation * Syrinx * Spina Bifida * Hydrocephalus-shunts * Peripheral nerve surgery * Neurolysis decompression * Repair * Brachial plexus region with supervision * Diagnostic procedures * Ventriculography with supervision * Myelography * Angiography with supervision * Pneumoencephalography with supervision * Carotid endarterectomy with supervision * Cranioplasty * Neurostimulators with supervision * Drug pump implantation with supervision * Ablative surgery for pain & spasticity with supervision * Nerve blocks * Admitting clinical privileges * Full privileges to prescribe/order medications Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; schedule to be determined by supervisor. Help 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. * 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). * Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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: * Board eligible or board certified in Neurosurgery * Fellowship trained in Complex Spine Reconstruction surgery and Minimally Invasive Spinal surgery Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Functional Requirements * Light lifting, under 15 pounds * Light carrying, under 15 pounds * Reaching above shoulder * Use of fingers * Walking (2 hours) * Standing (4 hours) * Both legs required * Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously * Both eyes required * Depth perception * Ability to distinguish basic colors * Ability to distinguish shades of colors * Hearing (aid may be permitted) Environmental Factors * Outside and inside * Electrical energy * Working around machinery with moving parts * Working around moving objects or vehicles * Working closely with others * 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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. Read more * Benefits Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered. How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other 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. Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.