Hospice & Palliative Medicine Physician VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System – Reno, Nevada

Hospice & Palliative Medicine Physician
VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System – Reno, Nevada
Department of Veterans Affairs | Veterans Health Administration

The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) in Reno, NV is seeking a compassionate and mission?driven Hospice & Palliative Medicine Physician to join our expanding Geriatrics & Extended Care (GEC) Service. This full-time position supports inpatient, outpatient, and interdisciplinary palliative care services dedicated to improving quality of life for Veterans with serious illness.

Position Overview
The HPM physician will provide expert palliative care consultation across multiple care settings—including acute inpatient, community living center, outpatient clinics, and home-based programs—working within a collaborative interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and therapists. This role supports our Whole Health and Veteran-centered care mission and may include opportunities for teaching, quality improvement, and research.

Reno VA Palliative Care

1. Palliative Care Teams established throughout VA system since 2003
2. Active HPM fellowship – Academic partnership with local university affiliate, UNR School of Medicine
1. HPM Fellows
2. Int med residents
3. Fam Med residents
4. Psych residents
5. Medical Students and PA Students
3. Interdisciplinary care teams:
1. Medicine, nursing, social work, mental health, chaplaincy, Pharmacists, dieticians, rec therapy
4. Inpatient Consults, Outpatient Consults(clinic), Nursing Home Consults, Inpatient Hospice Unit
5. Unique benefits
1. Concurrent care for advanced life-limiting conditions -> allows patients with incurable disease to receive disease-directed therapy (e.g., immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiation, blood transfusions, etc. AND home hospice services)
2. Nursing Home Hospice

Teaching

Academic Afternoon

Every Thursday with Formal Fellowship Didactics

Research

Reno has a growing R&D program with scientists leading national research portfolios evaluating access to and quality of palliative care. Scientific teams can utilize the program’s data analytic core and professional development pathways to grow budding research or participate in national research that is shaping key palliative care research and clinical priorities. The program also collaborates closely with the healthcare system’s Supportive Oncology Clinic to offer Veterans opportunities to cutting-edge pilot symptom management programs and clinical trials. If you are interested in research, the R&D program will work with you and the Geriatrics and Extended Care Service to design a protected time model that will support your research growth.

Qualifications
• U.S. Citizenship
• MD or DO from an accredited program
• Board Certified/Eligible in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine
• Hospice & Palliative Medicine board certification or eligibility required
• Eligible for full and unrestricted medical license

Benefits
• Competitive salary with annual performance bonus
• Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be available
• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) eligible – student loan repayment
• Up to 55 days of paid time off each year (annual, sick, federal holidays, CME)
• Traditional federal pension with 5?year vesting and federal 401(k) with matching
• Malpractice insurance with tail coverage provided at no cost
• Work-life balance with predictable schedule and no billing/insurance burdens

Why Reno, Nevada?
Reno offers a unique blend of city life and outdoor adventure. With proximity to Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada mountains, and year?round recreation, it is an ideal location for professionals seeking excellent quality of life. Nevada also features no state income tax.

 Kelly A. DeBoer, kelly.deboer@va.gov 
Supervisor, Physician/Provider Recruitment
VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System

The Reno campus operates 64 hospital beds, 60 Community Living Center beds, 14 ED beds, 12 ICU beds and 14 inpatient psych beds, in addition to four Community Based Outpatient Clinics and one rural outreach clinic. Academic affiliations for VASNHCS are the University Of Nevada School Of Medicine and the East Bay Surgical Program at the University of California, San Francisco. Approximately 45 medical, surgical, and psychiatry residents rotate annually through VASNHCS. Reno VA has 4 surgical suites in addition to cystoscopy and urology anesthesia suites. Approximately 50-55 cases per week are performed in orthopedics, general, ENT, urology, vascular, thoracic and GYN surgical specialties/subspecialties.

Work with an interdisciplinary team of health professionals in a patient centered care environment with one of the most advanced electronic medical records reporting systems in the country. In addition to the generous benefits, VA physicians are not burdened with the costs of office overhead or liability protection.

Move to the scenic and exciting city of Reno, Nevada! Located on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Reno is minutes away from beautiful Lake Tahoe. Outdoor adventure and fun are synonymous with Reno, as the city offers a myriad of open-air activities: water/snow skiing, snowmobiling, camping, hiking, fishing, golfing, mountain climbing/biking, off-roading, and rafting. There are fifteen ski resorts in the Reno/Tahoe area, including Squaw Valley and Northstar. Reno/Tahoe is also home to two dozen golf courses, including the PGA tour course Montreux. Reno/Sparks plays host to numerous local events, such as Farmer’s Market, Chili Cook-Off, Rib Cook-Off, Hot-Air Balloon Races, Street Vibrations, Artown, and the world famous Hot August Nights. Local casinos, clubs and bars provide for an entertaining nightlife in this 24-hour town. In addition, art and culture are pervasive in Reno. The Stremmel Art Gallery and Artown reveal the creative side of the "Biggest Little City…" The University of Nevada, Reno has the state’s only medical school, which includes 16 clinical departments and offers M.D. and Ph.D. programs.

Residents of the Reno area enjoy all four seasons, the desert climate is temperate in the fall and spring, hot in the summer and cold/snowy in the winter. Reno offers big-city shopping to boot! The Summit Sierra lifestyle center is the city’s premier shopping destination. The outdoor mall offers stores such as Apple, Buckle, Coach, Dillard’s, GAP, Guess, Hollister and Pottery Barn. Reno is listed as one of the hundred best cities in America to raise a family by Best Life and MSNBC. Reno was ranked the 9th best city to live in by Sperling &,,,,,, Sanders. Finally, Nevada has a favorable tax climate and does not have a state income tax.

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