Physician (Associate Chief of Staff - Informatics)

Summary

The Birmingham VA Health Care System is seeking a Physician - Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Informatics that establishes a formal informatics leadership presence to guide the operational - technical - and supervisory direction of the facility's clinical information systems.

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 allopathic 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 accrediting bodies for graduate medical education - the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) - in the list published for the year the residency - or fellowship if applicable - was completed
• OR (2) One year of post medical school training (internship - first year of residency - or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States
• OR (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement) - 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
• Exceptions: 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 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
• In rare and unusual circumstances - the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer - who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience - accomplishments - performance - and qualifications warrant such action
• Proficiency in spoken and written English
• Preferred Experience: Prior VA leadership experience in a service chief - deputy chief - program director - or ACOS-level capacity
• Demonstrated experience overseeing clinical information systems operations - including EHR performance - configuration - testing - deployment - and sustainment
• Hands-on leadership with EHRM or major EHR transitions - including planning - readiness - change management - and stabilization activities
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• Physical Requirements: Eligible applicants must be physically and mentally able to perform efficiently the essential functions of the position - with or without reasonable accommodation - without hazard to themselves or others
• Depending on the essential duties of a specific position - usable vision - color vision - hearing or speech may be required
• However - in most cases - a specific physical condition or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.

Duties

• This position ensures that informatics operations - digital tools - and system performance issues affecting patient care delivery are clearly identified - governed - and addressed at the organizational level
• The focus of this role is to optimize the reliability of clinical systems - strengthen data integrity - and enhance the effectiveness of technology-enabled care delivery in support of the VHA mission and goals
• 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: Key Responsibilities: Executive Leadership & Governance Serves as the clinical informatics advisor to the Medical Center Director - Chief of Staff - and Associate Director for all clinical informatics operations and systems - ensuring alignment with facility - VISN - and VHA strategic priorities
• Functions as an agent for organizational change
• Guides development and implementation of informatics programs supporting performance improvement - professional standards - workforce development - and enterprise-level transformation
• Leads or co-chairs EHR governance committees related to operational readiness - change management - and system configuration
• Operations and System Oversight Provide oversight of all clinical information systems (VistA/CPRS - Cerner/Oracle Health) Ensure system functionality - uptime - and performance meet clinical and operational needs Manages oversight of system build - testing - deployment - change control - and issue resolution Lead root cause analysis for system-related issues impacting patient care Coordinate with Office of Information and Technology (OIT) and other external vendors to ensure minimal disruption to clinical operations during rollouts Interfaces with service ADPACs
• Partner with CHIO to align system capabilities and user experience and adoption Support implementation of tools introduced by CHIO (Ambient AI - Annie - etc.) Supervision and Team Leadership Directly supervises staff and programs including EHRM - CHIO - CACs - Nursing Informatics - and Telehealth
• Establish performance expectations - workflows - and accountability structures Conduct performance evaluations and support staff development Align team priorities with facility and VISN goals Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00 a.m
• - 4:30 p.m.