Clinical Director of the Cardiology Division - VA Medical Center - Tucson, AZ

Position Overview:

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVACHS) is seeking a Physician to serve as the Clinical Director of the Cardiology Division. Commitment to excellence in patient care and an interest in teaching are essential. A record of contribution to the scientific literature is preferred. In addition to contributing to the clinical mission of the division, the division chief will be expected to participate in a variety of leadership duties. These will include distribution of clinical and educational assignments among the division staff, support of administrative functions of the division, mentoring division colleagues, and supporting division research when feasible. All of our full-time division members participate in outpatient clinic services including fellow’s clinic and in the inpatient consult service. Our hospitalist service reduces the demands of in-patient care on our subspecialty divisions.

We have added another full-time physician position to the division, so we are able to accommodate a division chief with any subspecialty interest. Advanced echocardiography skills, expertise in other cardiac imaging, interest in heart failure, interest in consult service. Our hospitalist service reduces the demands of in-patient care on our subspecialty divisions. leadership and expertise in interventional and/or structural cardiology would all be compatible with our service alignment. We are performing Watchman implants, TAVR and TEER procedures.

 Duties:

• Commitment to excellence in patient care and an interest in teaching are essential.
• Participate in quality improvement activities and ensure compliance with rules and regulations of the agency, facility, and department.
• Maintain satisfactory supervision and training of fellows, residents and medical students from the University of Arizona College of Medicine rotating through the Cardiology Division.
• Participate in a variety of leadership duties.

Requirements:

• US Citizen
• Must have an active and unrestricted license in any of the US States
• Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine
• Residency Training in Internal Medicine in any of the US States
• Board Eligible or Board Certified in Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine
• Current ACLS and BLS Certification
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

The Tucson VA is a tertiary care facility providing a full range of clinical services including complex coronary angioplasty, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, Mohs surgery and neurosurgery. It has been a flagship quality provider within the VA and was a 2012 winner of the prestigious Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award. We are in a growth area for the VA. Consequently, the VA is open to major capital investment in our facility; we are in the design phase for a new subspeciality building.

SAVACHS is the principal teaching affiliate of the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Candidates must be eligible for a faculty appointment with the University of Arizona commensurate with clinical experience and academic achievement in order to facilitate teaching of medical students, residents and fellows.
SAVACHS is the principal teaching affiliate of the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Candidates must be eligible for a faculty appointment with the University of Arizona commensurate with clinical experience and academic achievement to facilitate teaching of medical students, residents, and fellows.

Benefits

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

Total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

• Salary - $340,000 - $385,000/year
• Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Approved
• Robust insurance coverage
• The ability to work anywhere in the country with one active license.??
• Stable employment with competitive salary and regular pay increases
• 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.

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