Physician - Geriatrics–opportunity in beautiful Tucson, Arizona

Position Information:

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) is seeking a Board-Certified or Board Eligible Geriatrician to join the Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) Service Line. This physician will play a key role in delivering high-quality, evidence-based inpatient geriatric care to Veterans and advancing age-friendly hospital initiatives.

The selected Geriatrician will report directly to the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Geriatrics and Extended Care and will provide clinical coverage for the Inpatient Geriatric Consultation Service and the Inpatient Hip Fracture Program.

Job Duties:

• Provide inpatient geriatric consultation services for hospitalized Veterans with complex medical, cognitive, and functional needs.
• Serve as a core clinician for the Inpatient Hip Fracture Program, supporting co-management and interdisciplinary care of older Veterans with fragility fractures.
• Conduct comprehensive geriatric assessments addressing:
  • Delirium, dementia, and other cognitive disorder
  • Falls, gait instability, and mobility limitations
  • Polypharmacy and high-risk medication use
  • Frailty, functional decline, and sarcopenia
  • Goals of care, advance care planning, and capacity evaluations
• Participate in interdisciplinary rounds with hospital medicine, orthopedic surgery, nursing, pharmacy, rehabilitation services, social work, and case management.
• Support safe transitions of care, including discharge planning and coordination with outpatient and home-based services.
• Contribute to quality improvement, patient safety, and age-friendly health system initiatives within SAVAHCS
• Participate in teaching and clinical education of trainees and interdisciplinary staff, as applicable.
• Maintain compliance with VA documentation, performance measures, and clinical practice standards.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. No evenings, weekends or holidays.

 Requirements:

• United States Citizenship
• Non-US Citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified US Citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine
• Current, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in all the US States
• Successful completion of Residency Training in the USA
• Board certified Geriatrician

Preferred Experience:

• Experience providing inpatient geriatric consultation
• Clinical experience managing hospitalized older adults with delirium, frailty, multimorbidity, and post-operative complications
• Experience or strong interest in hip fracture co-management programs
• Comfort working within interdisciplinary, team-based inpatient care models

The Tucson VA Medical Center is a 295-bed hospital that provides training, primary care, and sub-specialty health care in numerous medical areas for eligible Veterans. It is the "Flagship" for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS), which serves over 170,000 veterans located in eight counties in Southern Arizona comprised of the medical center in Tucson, Arizona and seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Casa Grande, Green Valley, Safford, Sierra Vista, Yuma, Northwest, and Southeast Tucson.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be approved for highly qualified applicants.
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): approved

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) Authorized: This position is eligible for EDRP, a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of your start date. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Contact ELRSProgramSupport@va.govfor questions/assistance.

Pay: $265,000 to - $315,000 per year with annual performance bonus and  regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) 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
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

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