Physician Assistant

Summary

The Wyoming MI VA Clinic is hiring a Physician Assistant for Physical Medicine & Rehab. This internal posting ensures current VA employees receive first consideration. Applicants familiar with our workflows, Veteran population, and interdisciplinary practices are encouraged to apply and support clinical excellence, Veteran access, and service priorities.

Duties

The Physician Assistant (PA) at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center serves as a vital member of the healthcare team, providing comprehensive medical care across a range of clinical settings. Duties are performed under an approved Scope of Practice, which is individualized based on training, experience, and clinical competency, and reviewed by the collaborating physician and medical staff committee. Applicants with experience in Kinesiology, musculoskeletal/spine medicine including athletic training will be considered the most highly qualified. Routine Duties include: Obtaining medical histories and performing physical examinations. Providing and coordinating medical care for assigned patients, including diagnosis, care planning, implementation, and follow-up. Evaluating outpatients to determine further healthcare needs. Ordering diagnostic studies and special tests (e.g., MRI, CT scans). Carrying out health promotion, disease prevention, and patient education activities. Ordering or obtaining laboratory specimens. Ordering ancillary services (pharmacy, social services, rehabilitation therapies, prosthetics, etc.). Initiating VA specialty consults and requests for non-VA care per policy. Ordering patient care supplies. Writing orders and prescribing medications in accordance with VA and state regulations. Admitting and discharging patients in consultation with the collaborating physician, including documentation of admission history, physical exams, progress notes, and discharge summaries. Making patient record entries (medical histories, progress notes, consults, evaluations, orders) without physician co-signature unless required by law or policy. Obtaining and documenting informed consent for treatments and procedures as authorized by the Scope of Practice. Providing education and counseling to patients and families regarding preventive care, medical conditions, and prescribed treatments. Expanded Scope of Practice (if approved): May include additional procedures such as application of splints, battlefield acupuncture, nasogastric intubation, suturing, minor dermatological procedures (incision and drainage, skin tag removal, biopsies, etc.), orthopedic procedures (joint and bursal injections), and women's health procedures (pelvic/breast exams, contraception counseling, menopause management, cancer screening, etc.), based on demonstrated competency and additional training. Practice Autonomy: PAs may practice with full, limited, or supervised autonomy, depending on experience, competency, and assigned duties. Full autonomy is typical for experienced PAs in primary care and lower-risk settings, while limited or supervised autonomy applies to newly appointed PAs or those performing higher-risk procedures. Additional Notes: All duties are performed in accordance with VA Medical Staff policies, applicable rules, and federal regulations. In emergencies, restrictions may be waived as governed by Medical Staff Bylaws. Scope of Practice is reviewed and renewed periodically, with input from the collaborating physician and medical staff leadership. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Qualifications

Physician Assistant Basic Requirements Master's degree in any discipline or a bachelor's degree in any discipline with one year of experience as a Physician Assistant ~AND~ Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam) ~AND~ Currently hold, or will hold, a full and unrestricted license to practice in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia. Preferred Experience: Applicants with experience in Kinesiology, musculoskeletal/spine medicine including athletic training will be considered the most highly qualified. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates: Physician Assistant-III (PA-III) Experience and Education. PAs at the PA-III grade are at the full performance level and lead and organize patient care independently, practice within multi-disciplinary teams, and coordinate all aspects of patient care across the health care system. They utilize advanced clinical knowledge and judgment in decision-making and evaluating outcomes. They function as experts in clinical practice and/or in areas related to the assigned roles and responsibilities, may serve as mentors for transitioning PAs, and may provide training for health care students. Individuals can demonstrate the KSAs for the full performance level by: i. Three years of successful practice as a PA. OR ii. Successful completion of a PA post-graduate residency program sponsored by VHA Office of Academic Affiliations or other postgraduate residency programs accredited by VA, ARC-PA, U.S. Armed Forces, or another accrediting agency and one year of professional practice as a PA. OR iii. A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and one year of professional practice as a PA. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. PAs at this level are not required to meet each individual KSA listed below to qualify, but should be able to demonstrate, develop, or acquire those not met upon appointment for PA-III: i. Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care. ii. Skill to consistently demonstrate an elevated level of expertise and autonomy in diagnosing and treating seriously ill, multi-symptomatic patients through facility Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE). iii. Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials. iv. Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel. v. Ability to implement and initiate clinical changes to established treatment protocols based upon new medical literature research findings to enhance patient delivery care for improved patient outcomes. vi. Ability to participate clinically in the development of the PA patient care audit processes involving in-depth review and analysis of medical records. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is 3. Physical Requirements: Ability to pass a Driver's screening

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.