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.
Additional Requirements and Specialized Experience:
- Electrophysiology Procedural Skills:
The candidate/applicant
must be experienced, competent, and comfortable at independently covering the EP Lab
and performing all the following required complex clinical cardiac electrophysiology procedures:
- Electrophysiological (EP) studies.
- 3-D mapping techniques of cardiac chambers and arrhythmias.
- Atrial fibrillation ablation (pulmonary vein isolation): Candidate must be trained and competent in using both cryoablation as well as radiofrequency ablation techniques.
- EP studies +/- ablation of all other atrial arrhythmias
- Ventricular arrhythmia ablation.
- Implantation of cardiac implantable electronic devices (transvenous permanent pacemaker (PPM), transvenous / subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), implantable loop recorder (ILR)).
- Implantation of leadless pacemakers like Micra.
- Insertion of temporary pacing wire.
- Extraction of pacing or ICD or CRT leads and systems (e.g. in settings of endocarditis, leads malfunction, etc.).
- Venograms.
- Transseptal punctures.
- Cardioversions.
- Interrogation and programming of cardiac devices (PPM, ICD, CRT, ILR) using programmers.
- Left atrial appendage occlusion devices, in particular the Watchman.
- Electrophysiology Inpatient and Outpatient care:
In addition to EP procedural skills, the candidate
must have the independent ability to be the attending to EP inpatient consults, perform ECG readings, cardiac monitor readings, remote monitoring of cardiac devices, and attending in the general outpatient device clinic and in his or her own arrhythmia clinic; and reading echocardiograms.
- General Cardiology Inpatient and Outpatient Care:
The position will require approximately 40% time providing
general cardiology care. The candidate
must have experience in covering the Critical Care Unit and attending to general cardiology inpatients, including patients with heart failure, acute and stable coronary syndromes, cardiology consults from the Medicine and Surgery services, and covering general cardiology Fellows outpatient clinic.
- Research Skills:
The successful applicant
will be required to conduct clinical research at the VA on arrhythmias, heart failure, and cardiac implantable electronic devices. He or she
must therefore demonstrate qualification, competence, and experience in the following:
- Evidence of postgraduate academic training in epidemiology and biostatistics at doctoral level (PhD).
- Independent use of statistical packages (STATA, SPPS, or SAS among others).
- Must have a track record of research in the field of cardiovascular medicine and specifically in areas of cardiac implantable electronic devices, arrhythmias, and heart failure. This should be corroborated by peer-reviewed epidemiological research publications in cardiovascular medicine in high-impact journals.
- Must have the ability to analyze large datasets and perform systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Physical Requirements: Evaluation of physical, cognitive and emotional fitness of candidates for appointment in VA is required prior to appointment. Candidates must be capable of interactions with patients and health care personnel in a caring and professional manner. The candidate must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, to function effectively under stress, to adapt to changing environments, and to display flexibility.