Section Chief for the Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders (SCI/D) Service

This is a full-time, leadership-focused clinical and administrative role supporting one of the nation’s largest and most respected VA healthcare systems.

Position Number: 91737017
Opportunity Type: Full Time
Specialty Sought: Hybrid (PM&R or Neurology)
FTEs Needed: 1
Service: SCI/D Outpatient
Reports to: Chief, SCI/D Service

Position Overview

The SCI/D Outpatient Section Chief provides both hands-on clinical care and high-level administrative leadership. The role supports four other physicians and a multidisciplinary clinical team providing care to approximately 600 Veterans living with spinal cord injuries or disorders.

Primary responsibilities include:

Administrative Duties: • Lead outpatient SCI/D physicians and assigned staff.
• Participate in staff meetings, committees, accreditation activities, and peer review.
• Ensure timely documentation, credentialing maintenance, mandatory training completion.
• Manage time and leave processes, clinic cancellations, and clinical coverage needs.
• Oversee productivity, access metrics, open encounters, and consult management.
• Collaborate with the Assistant Nurse Manager on efficient clinic operations.
• Support performance improvement and quality initiatives across the service.

Clinical Duties: • Maintain active privileges and clinical practice in the physician’s specialty.
• Deliver high-quality patient care including assessment, diagnosis, and management.
• Demonstrate strong clinical judgment using evidence-based medicine.
• Communicate effectively with Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary team members.
• Model professionalism, ethics, and a commitment to continuous growth.
• Provide off-tour inpatient/consult coverage on a rotational basis (nights, weekends, holidays).

Work Environment

• Outpatient practice based at Audie Murphy VA Hospital.
  • Review SCI/D service consults for neuro-rehab appropriateness.
  • Participate in facility-wide performance measures including access and utilization.
  • Engage in accreditation, quality management, peer review, and hospital committees.
  • Maintain licensure, board certification, and academic affiliate requirements.
  • Work Schedule: Monday–Friday, 7:30am–4:00pm.

Team Structure: • Four physicians, Assistant Nurse Manager, two RNs, one LVN, one CNA
• Full interdisciplinary support: physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, pharmacy, social work

Patient Population: • Approx. 600 Veterans with spinal cord injuries or neurologic disorders
• Highly rewarding care environment serving chronic and complex neuro-rehab needs

Professional Development: • Strong VA-supported opportunities for training, education, QI projects, research involvement, and academic participation.

Qualifications

Basic/Preferred Qualifications: • Board Certified or Board Eligible in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation or Neurology
• Experience in neurorehabilitation (inpatient or outpatient), specializing in SCI/D preferred
• Experience or interest in spinal cord medicine, pain, musculoskeletal medicine, or rehab subspecialties
• Minimum three years of supervisory or leadership experience

VA Employment Requirements: • U.S. Citizens strongly encouraged; non-citizens will be considered when qualified candidates are not available
• Unrestricted medical license from any U.S. state or territory
• Completion of residency training approved by the VA
• Successful background check and onboarding requirements

Compensation and Benefits

Competitive VA Total Rewards Package
• Salary Range (Tier 2): 240,000 to 335,000
• Recruitment/Relocation Incentive available
• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) eligible
• Federal benefits package including comprehensive insurance options

Federal Retirement Benefits: • FERS – Federal Employees Retirement System:
A secure, government-backed pension paid for life, based on years of service and high-3 salary.

• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP):
  The federal equivalent of a 401(k) with government matching.
  The VA contributes up to 5% automatically when you do.

Together, FERS + TSP provide one of the strongest, most stable retirement packages available in the U.S.

Work-Life Balance: • 26 days of annual leave
• 13 days of sick leave
• 11 paid federal holidays
• Possible 5 days of paid absence for CME
• Predictable Monday–Friday schedule
• No RVUs or private-sector style productivity pressure

This is one of the best work-life balance environments in modern medicine.

Why San Antonio?

San Antonio offers an outstanding quality of life with a low cost of living and no state income tax. Highlights include:

• Beautiful, warm climate with year-round outdoor living
  • Vibrant culture, food, music, and arts
  • Excellent schools and family-friendly communities
  • One of the nation’s fastest-growing medical ecosystems
  • Easy travel, major airport, and central location in Texas
  • Highly affordable housing and a strong local economy

Living in Texas means keeping more of your income—your VA salary stretches even further in a tax?free state.

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• 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-RAE 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 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s 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 2025, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $23,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $31,000.
• 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

South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) is comprised of two inpatient campuses: the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio and the Kerrville VA Hospital in Kerrville, Texas. STVHCS serves one of the largest primary service areas in the nation and is part of the VA Heart of Texas Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 17), with offices located in Arlington, Texas. South Texas provides health care services for 80,000 unique Veterans. The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital (ALMMVH), named after the nation’s most decorated World War II hero, is a quaternary care facility, which is affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Comprehensive health care is provided through acute medical, surgical, mental health, physical medicine and rehabilitation, geriatric, and primary care services. Comprised of a Spinal Cord Injury Center, a Community Living Center, a Domiciliary, and a Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP). ALMMVH provides quaternary services including bone marrow transplantation, open-heart surgery, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. As a Level II Research facility ALMMVH has projects that include aging, cardiac surgery, cancer, diabetes and HIV. The facility has one of three National Institutes of Health sponsored clinical research centers in the VA. In addition, the Geriatric Research, Education & Clinical Center (GRECC) is a “Center of Excellence.” The Kerrville VA Hospital (KVAH), located 65 miles northwest of San Antonio, provides primary care, some specialty care, geriatric evaluation and management, palliative care, and long-term care services with a Community Living Center. Outpatient clinics offer primary care and some specialty care while sharing resources with each other and their respective communities. When required, Veterans are referred to ALMMVH or KVAH for specialty care including medicine, surgery, neuropsychiatry, rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, and long-term care services.