Physician - Nuclear Radiology

Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) in scenic sunny Tucson, Arizona is currently looking for a Radiologist with specialty in Nuclear Medicine.  

Position Information:

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) is seeking a full time Radiologist, for the Nuclear Medicine division of the Radiology Service. It is someone who has completed a Radiology residency and has significant experience with Nuclear Medicine interpretation or has recently completed a fellowship in Nuclear Medicine Imaging and can also interpret General Radiologic studies.

Duties:

The successful candidate will be responsible for functions which fall under the scope of care of Radiology Service. It includes clinical and administrative management, but are not limited to the following:

• Examinations - uses assessment skills to promptly interpret radiological examinations using appropriate clinical, laboratory and other pertinent data. Provides follow-up when the indicated.
• Diagnosis - Accurately interprets and evaluates radiological data for the purpose of determining diagnosis and clinical status. Corrects diagnosis when necessary.
• Therapeutic Ability - Initiates appropriate and timely interpretation. Recognizes changes in behavior, symptoms, sign, and other pertinent facts about the patient during and after the performance of radiology examinations and has the ability to modify plan of treatment when indicated. Recognizes own capabilities and limitations
• Patient Management - Maintains confidentiality of patients and relatives through competence and interpersonal skills. Acts as a consultant in involving patients in the treatment and management plan.
• Consultations and Specialty Skills - Acts as a consultant for the Radiology Section in developing, implementing and evaluation diagnosis and treatment of patients. Demonstrates the ability to recognize the need for consultation to other facility specialty areas.
• Record keeping - Promptly and completely reports physical examinations and changes in patient status. Maintains clear, accurate, and current clinical records. Completes medical records per hospital regulations.

Other responsibilities include resident and technologist education; review of pre-procedure labs and protocolling of radiology studies; participation in peer review process; quality management activities such as peer review, study/film quality; participation in SAVAHCS committees such as the multidisciplinary tumor board.

The successful candidate must be eligible for academic appointment as the Assistant/Associate Professor level at University of Arizona.

Requirements:

• US Citizen
• Must have an active and unrestricted license in any of the US States
• Doctor of Medicine or osteopathic medicine
• Board Certified or eligible in Diagnostic Radiology/ American Board of Nuclear Medicine.
• Significant experience with nuclear medicine study interpretation including PET/CT, SPECT/CT, and nuclear cardiac stress testing in addition to therapies, or has recently completed a fellowship in nuclear medicine including acting as Authorized User.
• Ability to review and protocol routine, inpatient, and urgent nuclear medicine requests and interact with the nuclear technologist staff to answer questions and obtain optimal imaging.
• Capability to interpret examinations related to other Radiologic specialties is highly preferred including plain radiographs, body imaging and performing fluoroscopic exams.
• Ability to teach and train the residents/fellows.

Work Schedule:  Full-time, Permanent, Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, may work some on-call coverage.

Benefits

In addition to the honor of serving America’s Heroes, the VHA offers exceptional benefits:

Total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

• Flexible work schedules and shifts
• Robust insurance coverage
• The ability to work anywhere in the country with one active license.??  
• Stable employment with competitive salary and regular pay increases
• Salary - $330,000 - $400,000 per year
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized to highly qualified candidate.
• CME:Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
• Contract:No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

• Liability Protection: VA physicians are covered under federal tort laws and may be defended by the United States against allegations of malpractice or negligence.
• Health insurance: With Federal Employees Health Benefits, choose from a variety of self or family health maintenance organizations and are entitled to a partial Government contribution in proportion to the number of hours you are scheduled to work in a pay period.
• Dental and vision insurance: Under the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, supplemental dental and/or vision benefits are available to you and your family.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Allows you to save money for health care expenses with a Health Care or Limited Expense Health Care FSA. Think of it as a savings account that helps you pay for items that typically aren’t covered by your FEHB Plan, the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, or other health insurance coverage.
• Life insurance: Plan for what’s next with Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, which is group term life insurance covering you and eligible family members.
• Survivor benefits: Become eligible for survivor benefits after 10 years of service.
• Pension: Your basic annuity is computed based on your length of service and “high-3” average salary and become vested in the Federal Employee Retirement System, Basic/Defined Benefit pension after only five years of creditable civilian service.
• Thrift Savings Plan (Federal 401k Equivalent) 5 % agency match: TSP lets you contribute up to $23,000 a year to your account. Become vested after only 3 years of creditable civilian service.
• Annual Leave (Paid Time Off): 1 hour of annual leave for each 10 hours in a pay status with a max carryover of 240 hours. 1 hour of sick leave for each 20 hours in a pay status (no limit) and 11 paid federal holidays accrue right away.
• Credit for military service: Have you earned service credits from your time in military service? Don’t worry — if you move to a federal job at VA, you may carry over service time that is added to your total years of work for retirement purposes. 
• Service without strings: Whether you serve full or part-time, your employment at VA is “at will” and without employment contracts, non-compete clauses, restrictive covenants, or other significant restrictions on outside work.

VHA also offers the Contract Buy Out Program (CBOP), a groundbreaking hiring incentive that allows the VA to recruit the best and brightest Physicians and buy out the contractual obligation (locum agreements, loan repayments, sign-on bonus) with their current employer. If eligible, the VA can buy out your service contract in exchange for 4 years of service at one of our rural or highly rural VA medical centers or affiliated community-based outpatient clinic.

Participation in CBOP is a huge benefit all on its own. It frees you to pursue the career you’ve always wanted, embrace the noble mission of serving our Veterans, and focus on the healing that drove you to become a clinician in the first place (rather than worrying about a contract).

If you are ready to serve the health care needs of our rural Veterans and a contract with your current employer is holding you back, contact the CBOP office today at [email protected] for more information.

With over 450 rural VA medical centers and affiliated outpatient clinics nationwide, the VA has a place waiting for you!

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to assisting you to your new, rewarding career at the Veterans Health Administration!