Physician - Pulmonologist / Critical Care

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

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, 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

Duties:

Duties and responsibilities of the Staff Pulmonary / Critical Care physician include but are not limited to:

• Provide general Pulmonary, Critical Care, sleep consultation, and bronchoscopy services in keeping with good clinical practice and standards of the Pulmonary Section and Medicine Service at the Syracuse Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and SUNY Upstate Medical University, where you will be given an appropriate academic appointment commensurate with your experience and education
• Provide close supervision and education of the Pulmonary/Critical Care fellows and medical residents in all their clinical activities
• Participate in educational activities related to the fellowship and internal medicine residency program
• Collaborate with the physician extenders and nursing care providers in the Pulmonary Section
• Be a resource for Primary Care providers to assist in the timely care of patients and appropriate referral to Pulmonary, Critical Care and sleep medicine
• Provide expertise in multispecialty and patient care related discussions
• As a staff physician in the Pulmonary Section, you will be encouraged to participate in the development or on-going research as it relates to your professional interests
• Provide in-patient Pulmonary consultation services
• Provide in-patient Pulmonary and Critical Care attending services (including procedures within your specialty area of expertise) in rotation within the ICU, and step down inpatient units
• Participate in inter-hospital transfers of patients as needed
• Provide outpatient care and perform clinical procedures within the Pulmonary Section
• Function as an active member of the Pulmonary Department of the Syracuse VA Medical Center
• Maintain General internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care board certification and training
• Participate in evaluation and interpretation of sleep studies
• Serve on Peer review, and potentially other committees as requested by the Medical Center Director, Chief of Staff, Service Chief for Specialty Care ICC or the Pulmonary Section Chief
• Maintain compliance with the Medical Staff bylaws and will complete all medical records timely through CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System) in accordance with VA Policies and Regulations
• All attending physicians are expected to participate in ongoing process improvements within their specific areas of expertise thereby promoting quality, efficiency, and timely access to care for our veteran patients
• Remain actively engaged in completing quarterly chart reviews and other quality assurance work within the department
• Ensure timely record completion for all patients as outlined in the Department of Medicine
• Attend quarterly General Medical Staff meetings, and monthly Medicine department staff meetings

Work Schedule: Full time, days, 4-10 hour days (as per the needs of the service). The selected will also have 1 week of ICU call coverage per month

About the Syracuse VA Medical Center The Syracuse VA Medical Center, part of VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York opened its doors on June 14, 1953. The Medical Center utilizes state-of-the-art technology to provide a full range of patient care services, education and research. The 106-bed general medical and surgical facility provides comprehensive:

• Primary Care
• Mental Health
• Tertiary care
• Long-term care
• Physical Medicine
• Rehabilitation
• Neurology
• Oncology
• Dentistry
• Geriatrics

The Syracuse VA Medical Center also operates a Community Care Center that provides a community day program, mental health intensive case management program, homeless veteran program, and vocational services.

The Department of Veterans Affairs named the Syracuse VA Medical Center as a Center of Excellence for its Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom and Polytrauma programs. The Syracuse facility is also the principal referral center for neurosurgery and urological renal stone treatment, serving all of upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania veterans.

Syracuse VA provides primary and behavioral health care in a 13-county area of Central New York through eight community based outpatient clinics in Auburn, Binghampton, Carthage, Cortland, Ithaca, Massena, Oswego, and Rome.

The Syracuse VA Medical Center has an active affiliation with the State University of New York Upstate Medical University where over 650 of their students, residents, interns, and fellows receive training at the Medical Center each year. The Syracuse VA has eight affiliated nursing education programs and a physician assistant externship with LeMoyne College and a long-standing educational partnership with Syracuse University for field experience for audiology, speech pathology and social work students.

There is a $2.5 million research and development program that includes 95 studies on a variety of topics. The research program is fully accredited by the National Commission of Quality Assurance.

Syracuse recently completed a six-floor addition that houses a new spinal cord injury/disease center with a therapeutic pool, expanded outpatient services, dialysis program, and six new operating rooms. The Medical Center continues renovations for an expanded parking garage and recently completed construction on a new MRI suite, heart catheterization suite and a state-of-the-art emergency department. Information about the Syracuse area can be found at the Chamber of Commerce.

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