Physician assistant- palliative care

Summary

The Palliative Physician Assistant provides Inpatient and/or Outpatient Palliative Care to Veterans at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities of the position:

• Independently manages a panel of patients with terminal illness with an emphasis on symptom management related to illness and discussion of goals of medical care.
• Develops and implements an individualized plan to achieve improved quality of life.
• Demonstrates leadership and works collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team.
• Orders and interprets labs, tests, and diagnostic studies.
• Prescribes pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.
• Initiates referrals and consults to specialty services.
• Provides education to patients and their families.
• Assesses and adjusts the plan of care as needed to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
• Exemplifies the ICARE core values of Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence.

Clinical

Responds to all palliative care consults within 48 hours. Provides care to inpatient palliative and hospice patients. Initiates Outpatient consults for Hospice care as needed. Provide goal setting with Veteran and family, by initiating, and chairing Veteran/family meetings and recording the outcome of the meeting in the veteran's record to communicate veterans/families' goals for all involved staff to understand. These meetings may be in the inpatient or the outpatient setting. The veterans attending health care provider is encouraged to attend these family meetings. Some issues of discussion may include code status, advanced directives, identification of resource needs. These meetings will include the social worker, and chaplain to be in attendance as much as able. Collaborates with veterans and the medical providers caring for the veteran at the time (provider may be urgent care/ER, primary care, specialty care, or hospitalist) to be informed of the history and prognosis of the patient. Available to Emergency Medicine as needed, to assist with case-finding and goal setting. Has direct interaction with the veteran and family in various venues, such as primary care visits at the time of the veteran's appointment, Oncology Clinic, subspecialty clinics and acute care settings. Review ongoing pain and symptom management with evaluation and adjustments as needed for Veterans under the care of the SLCVHA. Special interest/skill in malignant acute pain management with availability to other medical providers for consultation. Fills scripts for opioids, palliative care medications and durable medical equipment requests as needed. Ensures that their clinical activities are within their Scope of Practice and are medically and ethically appropriate.

Administrative

Demonstrates leadership and works collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team. Attends palliative care/hospice team meetings. Attends palliative care memorial service, participating as requested. Assists with evaluating requests made for inpatient palliative care admissions. Contributes to local, VISN, and National Palliative Care workgroups or QI as needed. Participating in conference calls as scheduled. Works to strengthen and progress the overall Hospice and Palliative care service in VISN. This activity is above and beyond normal duties and would contribute to higher level evaluations. Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule

Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized by supervisor

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Conditions of employment:

• All qualified candidates encouraged to apply.
• Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
• Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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
• Successfully passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) (or are you in the process to taking the exam)
• 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: Palliative and/or Hospice

Grade Determinations

Physician Assistant-I (PA-I) Experience and Education. None beyond the basic requirements. This is the entry level for PAs. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. The following list of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) present the minimum skill set expected of an Entry Level PA. This practice may include, but is not limited to:

• Ability to utilize the principles of PA practice in the care of assigned patients to provide appropriate care.
• Ability to perform patient history and physical.
• Ability to formulate a plan and provide treatment to the patient.
• Ability to provide patient care that is abreast of changing concepts and advancements in the profession.

Physician Assistant-II (PA-II) Experience and Education. The PA at this grade is at the intermediate grade level and has had progressively increasing responsibility and experiences as indicated in the KSAs listed below. Individuals will have demonstrated the ability to analyze and solve more complex medical problems than at the entry level grade and can utilize their training in the successful practice of patient care and participate in team problem solving. Individuals demonstrate the KSAs of PA-II intermediate level by:

• Two years of successful practice as a PA.
• OR 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.
• OR A doctoral degree in a health-related field from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). 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-II:

• Skills to analyze and solve complex medical problems.
• Ability to function autonomously and make independent medical decisions.
• Skill to incorporate training and experience into the successful practice of patient care including telehealth medical care.
• Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment for improvement of services for patient care.
• Ability to practice with colleagues and peers collaboratively.

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:

• Three years of successful practice as a PA.
• OR 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 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:

• Ability to clinically evaluate facility patient care delivery systems and validate or identify barriers to safe and effective patient care.
• 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).
• Ability to present clinical findings and recommendations to appropriate management officials.
• Ability to clinically facilitate the delivery of patient care in collaboration with health professionals, health managers, and other health care personnel.
• 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.
• 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 here.

The full performance level of this vacancy is Grade III. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of Grade I to III.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

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.

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 here.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.