Physician / Internal Medicine / Opportunity St. Louis, MO - 54 Days Paid Time Off Per Year! - Department of Veterans Affairs

The VA St. Louis Health Care System is currently seeking a full-time BC/BE Internal Medicine physician for a staff primary care physician opportunity at our John Cochran VA Medical Center in mid-town St. Louis, MO.

You will provide primary care to a panel of patients and must promote, maintain and nurture positive relationships with the goal of efficient healthcare delivery where each team member works at the top of his or her practice. You must also be attentive to patient education and preventive care and be able to work well in an interdisciplinary team to provide high quality primary care.

Duties include:
Some inpatient coverage: inpatient coverage for approximately 2 months per year, usually in 2-week blocks of tiem. When providing inpatient coverage, you will be expected to make inpatient rounds on Saturday and Sunday mornings and take beeper call at night
You will be asked to supervise medical students and residents in the outpatient and inpatient areas
Managing chronic conditions, evaluating and treating intercurrent medical conditions
Collaborating with a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) to provide accessible, comprehensive, coordinated, continuous care to an assigned panel of patients
Performing a variety of disease prevention related activities including gender and age specific screenings (e.g. breast and colo-rectal cancer), mental health screenings (e.g. depression, substance use& abuse, military sexual trauma and PTSD) and health promotion activities including immunizations, weight management and exercise counseling
Screening for, evaluating and treating uncomplicated common mental health disorders, including depression and common addictions, with referrals made to mental health providers for further evaluation and treatment as appropriate
Performing common outpatient & office-based procedures
Performing preliminary interpretation of common diagnostic tests including EKG and plain x-ray films

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Licensure: Any full and unrestricted license from any US State or Territory is sufficient to work at any VA Medical Center.
Office Hours: Generally Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm (see duties above for additional caveats)
Student Loan Repayment: The selected applicant for this position may be eligible to apply for an education loan reimbursement award under the provisions of the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)

Whether youre interested in academics, research, or a better work/life balance, youll find the VA has a lot to offer, including the unmatched satisfaction youll get from caring for those who have served our country. In addition to competitive pay and liability protection, the VA also offers a robust benefits plan that includes:

Paid Time Off:
26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave you can carry over up to 86 days into a new year
13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation unused sick leave can be used to extend creditable service time at retirement!
10 Federal holidays per year with pay
5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses (subject to budget availability)

Insurance:
Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA)
Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government.
Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:
VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits; 2) FERS-FRAE basic benefits (pension); and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 8.3% of the employees salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 12.7% of the employees salary
Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2014, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $17,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $23,000.
The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
Disability Retirement
Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service