Clinical Pathology, Section Chief - Physician

Role Description:

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System is seeking a Section Chief Physician for the Chemistry and Toxicology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. Incumbent may travel between area campuses (25% or less) to perform duties and supervision, but the actual duty station will be at the Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC in Aurora, Colorado. Be a part of the team who brings innovative, leading-edge care to America’s Veterans. 

The opportunity includes but is not limited to:

• Selects the analytical methods and instruments used for testing within the area of responsibilities, currently including automated and manual chemistry, immunochemistry, electrophoresis, blood gases, automated urinalysis, urine microscopy, Hgb A1c testing, vitamin D analysis by LC - tandem mass spectrometry, urine drugs of abuse screening by immunoassay and urine drugs of abuse confirmation by LC- tandem mass spectrometry. Additional sections under the medical directorship of the Section Chief, Chemistry, Toxicology are Point of Care testing (POCT), phlebotomy, accessioning and send-out (fee basis) testing.
• Responsible for quality control, quality assurance and proficiency testing in his sections. The Section Chief develops corrective action as needed, based on the findings of these activities.
• Serves as the Course Director for the Chemistry rotation for pathology residents at Denver VA. In this role, he/she develops and presents Clinical Chemistry lectures to residents on his rotation and supervises residents while on the service.
• Contributes to the operation of effective and safe laboratories that are in compliance with standards established by the College of American Pathology (CAP), the Joint Commission (TJC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), VACO, and the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)

Basic Requirements:

• MD, or DO degree from a fully accredited medical or osteopathic school of medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Must be board certified in Clinical Pathology. Preferred experience/certification in Chemistry and Toxicology.
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a state, territory, or commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed approved US residency training
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Position Highlights:

• Sign-on Bonus is authorized for highly qualified candidates
• Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 annual leave, 13 sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays, and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
• Excellent Federal Benefits:
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5-year vest) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
• Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
• CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
• Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
• No Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting
• Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm (on call schedule by rotation)

Compensation: Competitive salary, sign-on incentive potential, annual bonus range. Base salary range $265k - $400k plus up to $15k annual bonus.

About the Aurora, Colorado VA Medical Center:

The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System is dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families every day. We provide healthcare services at 12 locations in eastern Colorado and western Kansas: Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (hospital) in Aurora, Colorado, and 11 community-based outpatient clinics. We also have a Community Referral and Resource Center, a 40-bed community living center (nursing home), and a 40-bed residential rehabilitation facility for homeless Veterans.

Fast facts

• In 2025, we had 3,476 full-time employees, including 335 physicians and 1,014 registered nurses.
• Our 2024 medical care budget was $1,360,691,430.
• In 2025, we had 904,478 outpatient visits and 3,960 total admissions.
• Our medical center has 227 beds distributed among internal medicine, surgery, rehabilitative medicine, and other services. That number also includes a 20-bed spinal cord injury and disorders unit and a 40-bed community living center (nursing home).
• We funded 478 research projects with a budget of more than $25 million in 2024.

CLICK HERE to apply direct and explore the details of this opportunity.

The NEW Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center is a welcomed step forward in meeting the increased health care needs of today's Veteran population. This new facility replaces the Denver facility of 670,000 square feet with a new state of the art campus of approximately 1.2 million square feet on 31 acres, providing many new services to Veterans.The new Aurora, Colorado location is ideally located on the southeast corner of the former Fitzsimons Army Base just off Interstate 225, immediately west of RTD's light rail station and neighboring Children's Hospital and the University of Colorado Anschutz Health Care Campus. 

Leading edge technology is designed into every aspect of the new campus, bringing Veterans high quality health care well into the 21st century. Guiding principles for the new campus include patient safety, improving the Veteran's health care experience, promoting the family's role in care delivery, and protecting our environment through green design.

The VA and the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center exemplify President Lincoln's promise "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans.

We are particularly honored and committed to serving Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Region Veterans. The VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System's specialized personal care epitomizes excellence in health care. Through a unique combination of medical center-based and local community-focused medicine, we bring innovative and leading-edge care to Veterans throughout the region.  Last year, the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System supported 1,033,000 outpatient health care visits.

Click HERE to see a virtual tour video of the NEW RMRVAMC!

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

It’s no accident that Denver is called “the Mile High City”: When you climb up to the State Capitol, you’re precisely 5,280 feet above sea level when you reach the 13th step. Denver’s location at this altitude was purely coincidental; Denver is one of the few cities not built on an ocean, a lake, a navigable river, or even (at the time) an existing road or railroad.

The U.S. Mint, built in 1906, established Denver as a banking and financial center.

In the years following World War II, Denver mushroomed to become the largest city between the Great Plains and the Pacific Coast, with almost 600,000 residents within the city limits and over three million in the metropolitan area. It remains a growing city, with a booming downtown and suburbs. Denver is noted for its tree-lined boulevards, 200 city parks that cover more than 20,000 acres, and architecture ranging from Victorian to postmodern.