Infectious Disease

This position is for an Infectious Disease Physician who will be a member and advisor of the Infection Control Program at Mountain Home VAMC. The position is 80% clinical, 20% administrative. This specialist will provide both inpatient and outpatient consultation services. This position will report to the Section Chief of Infectious Diseases, Chief of Medicine Service, and Chief of Staff.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provide diagnosis and treatment of adult patients presenting with infectious diseases such as diseases that are resistant to treatment, illness after travel, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Lyme disease and Hepatitis B and C.
• Provide treatment in an outpatient clinical setting and provide consultation services in an inpatient setting or emergent need.
• Perform a physical examination, review patient's medical data and order routine diagnostic imaging studies and las when indicated.
• Documents observation, assessments, and changes in patient's condition; collaborating with health team members to facilitate positive patient care outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with other specialties.
• Follow VA directives and policies and maintains current Basic Life Support (BLS).
• Possess computer skills to access and input typed data on each patient into the computerized patient record system (CPRS).
• Maintain license to practice medicine in a state, territory or commonwealth of the United States or in the District of Columbia. Required to possess full and unrestricted licensure and to maintain current registration.
• Outpatient clinic may be held at the Mountain Home VA Medical Center Campus, Johnson City, TN and provide consultation services to all other VA clinics affiliated with the VA Medical center.
• Provides direct clinical supervision of advance practice nurses or physician assistants and other staff as appropriate.
• Establishes professional working relationships with other clinical service providers within the medical center and outlying clinics, provide telephone and e-consult consultation as needed.
• Cooperates with and participate in medical duties or functions related to quality of care, peer review and with other performance improvement activities as directed. Attend assigned meetings or process action teams.
• Attend mandatory meetings and trainings/education such as staff meetings, grand rounds, Talent Management System (TMS), VA Voices, Own the Moment and comply with specialist continuing medical education requirements timely.
• Must be award and compliant of VA Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) metrics and VA Performance Measures.
• Other duties may be assigned as needed by the supervisor of Chief of Staff.

The James H. Quillen (Mountain Home, Tennessee) VA Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility serving the needs of Veterans in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, and southeast Kentucky. Built in 1903, this facility is rich in historical significance, having been authorized by President Abraham Lincoln prior to his death.

The Mountain Home facility, located in the center of Johnson City, Tennessee, is spread over 247 acres and includes the medical center, nursing home care unit, Domiciliary, National Cemetery and medical school affiliate. The Medical Center is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. Comprehensive healthcare is provided through primary care, tertiary care and long-term care in areas medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, cardiology, audiology, geriatrics, and extended and Domiciliary care.

The James H. Quillen VAMC is a 114-bed hospital with Community Living Center of 120 beds, and Domiciliary of 295 beds. The serve 41 counties with a Veteran population of 200,000.

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

Bristol Motor Speedway sponsors two races per year including family night and night racing. Bristol Motor Speedway also sponsors Christmas Lights at the Speedway and ice skating during the winter months. The Tri-cities has several lakes including Boone, Watauga, and Holston.  The town of Jonesboro, the oldest town in Tennessee, holds the Story Telling Conference and a July 4th celebration in historic downtown Jonesboro. Johnson City sits in the eastern tip of Tennessee bordering North Carolina and Virginia. Historic cities such as Asheville North Carolina and Abingdon Virginia are within 45 minutes’ drive. Abingdon is home to the historic Barter Theatre and the Martha Washington Inn. The Highlands Festival is held in Abingdon and the Belle Chere celebration in Asheville NC. Due in part to the area's exceptional climate, golf is one of the Tri-Cities most popular sports. The area's ten beautiful courses challenge the most experienced golfers. Not to be overlooked are the area's unique shopping and dining facilities.