Physician - Plastic & Hand Surgery

Job Description 

Join our Team at the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Palo Alto, CA as a Physician - Plastic & Hand Surgery! 

The incumbent reports directly to the Chief of Plastic & Hand Surgery and is responsible for providing medical and surgical services to eligible Veterans. The incumbent practices in the Plastic & Hand Surgery section.

Clinical:
1. Operations.
a. Perform operations that require a plastic and hand surgeon.
b. Provide expertise and training in reconstructive plastic surgery and hand surgery. Operations include but are not limited to reconstructive plastic surgery, microvascular plastic surgery and hand surgery.

2. Evaluation and management of Plastic and Hand Surgery patients.
a. Provide evaluation of patients in the plastic surgery clinic, emergency room, intensive care unit, operating room, and from other inpatient services.
b. Supervise trainees including medical students, residents, and fellows in all of these settings.
c. Sharing on-call coverage twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in accordance with the call schedule.
d. Practice safety, environmental, and/or infection control methods.
e. Instruct other personnel assigned to health care team on preventive medicine programs and other appropriate medical activities and functions.

3. Administrative:
a. Responsible for teaching medical students, residents and fellows.
b. Supports and enhances Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System philosophy and goals.

Required Experience: Board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery due to faculty appointment with the affiliate, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 

Benefits and Features

• Expected Salary range from $250K to $400K (negotiable based on candidate's qualifications, credentials and experience).
• Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized.
• Work Schedule: Monday- Wednesday 7:00am-5:30pm
• 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.

We encourage you to consider VA employment in Palo Alto, CA. We offer both a mission you can put your heart into and a home for fun, new experiences. Join a team that values a healthy home/work life balance and be rewarded by your role in keeping the promise to those who served.

The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System is a large and complex facility with inpatient, outpatient, residential and homeless services. Located in Palo Alto, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley, with beautiful weather, great food, a large multicultural population and a multitude of outdoor activities. Palo Alto is 30 miles from San Francisco, the beach and the mountains.

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