Great Opportunity- VA Chief Of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in San Diego, CA

The VA San Diego Healthcare System is seeking an experienced physician to serve as our Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

The Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine responsibilities include administration, management, maintaining accreditation and medical directorship for CLIA licensure and leadership of the entire Path and Lab Service at the facility. The service chief will report to the Network Chief, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, who is responsible for the overall clinical and administrative function of the pathologist physician staff.

The major duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Serves as the VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director, fulfilling all responsibilities of the VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director.
• Oversees all laboratory testing performed at VA medical facility laboratories, serves as a consultant for specialty laboratories and ensures all testing is compliant with federal regulations.
• Directs and coordinates the patient care, administration, education and research functions of the VA medical facility PALMS.
• Responsible for all quality measures regarding patient services.
• Provides consultation and guidance to VA health care providers regarding matters pertaining to pathology and laboratory medicine and the medical significance of laboratory findings.
• As the CLIA Medical Director (or delegates a voting member) participates on the VA medical facility Clinical Executive Board or analogous medical staff committee and all other appropriate committees.
• Participates in applicable cross-organizational performance-improvement activities, developing and communicating to the VA medical facility Chief Of Staff (COS) objectives and coordinating efforts to integrate patient care and support services.
• Directs and coordinates the functions of the VA medical facility PALMS and outreach functions based upon the mission, special needs and size of the VA medical facility.
• Ensures that VA medical facility laboratories performing patient care testing meet requirements for hospital accreditation.
• Ensures, if the VA medical facility PALMS has a blood bank or transfusion service, it maintains current Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) accreditation.
• Acts as a consultant for the VA medical facility when a community care provider is contracted to perform laboratory testing for VA patients. The VA medical facility Chief, PALMS must ensure that documentation is obtained to verify the contracted laboratory is appropriately CLIA certified and, if it's a non-waived laboratory, accreditation is documented.
• Ensures OPPE of VA medical facility pathology physicians and all technical and quality aspects of anatomic pathology are met.
• Ensures FPPEs are performed as appropriate.
• Oversees all PALMS-related quality reviews (e.g., OPPE, FPPE, the PLM QM Program, anatomic pathology internal quality review).
• Reviews and approves VA medical facility CLIA Laboratory Director appointments at VA medical facility specialty laboratories when the appointee is not a pathology physician.
• Establishes and implements criteria for rescreening cytopathology specimens for high-risk patients.
• In conjunction with the VA medical facility COS, ensuring an ongoing mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the usefulness and appropriateness of specialized testing requests to outside reference laboratories and ensuring the testing is appropriate for patient care.
• Equitably assigns pathology workload to pathology staff and establishes and maintains pathologist daily schedule to include on-call services.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary conferences (i.e. Tumor Board, Chest Conference, GI Conference etc.).

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Qualifications:

• S. Citizenship.
• Unrestricted U.S. Medical License.
• Successful completion of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited fellowship in their specialty.
• Board Certification within their specialty.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior VA Experience
• 5 years of supervisory experience.

We offer:

• $300,000 - $400,000 compensation package based on training, specialty, experience, and local labor market.
• CME: $1,000/year.
• Malpractice: VHA physicians are covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
• No employment contracts, noncompete clauses, or restrictive covenants.
• 26 days paid vacation; 13 days paid sick time; 11 paid federal holidays.
• Federal Retirement Pension and separate 401K with 5% agency match.
• Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance.

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

The VA San Diego Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 (VISN 22). VISN 22 includes medical centers and clinics in Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico.  

The VA San Diego Healthcare System serves the health care needs of about 116,553 Veterans in San Diego County and Imperial Valley County in California. Our health services are available to more than 231,083 Veterans who live in the area.  

We provide our patients with health care services at various locations in and around San Diego. Facilities include our Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center and community-based outpatient clinics in Chula Vista, Escondido, El Centro, Kearny Mesa, Oceanside, and Sorrento Valley. We also operate a domiciliary facility that provides state-of-the-art residential care to Veterans who need extended care and rehabilitation for recovery, health maintenance, improved quality of life, and a smooth transition back into their communities.

At the VA San Diego Healthcare System, we conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all. 

Our research and development service is one of the largest research programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs. In FY2022, we received over $44.2 million in research funding and had more than 200 principal investigators working on over 650 active projects.  

Several?of our investigators?have received the William S. Middleton Award–the highest national VA research award–for their contributions to the study of kidney function, HIV/AIDS, alcohol/drug addiction, and memory. 

The Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of health services for Veterans, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.  

Our medical center is primarily affiliated with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. We also have a partnership with San Diego University through the VA Nursing Academy, which provides funding to help VA health care facilities nationwide expand and strengthen their nursing programs.

Every year, we provide training for 1,271 medical interns, residents and fellows, as well as 331 other clinical trainees, in areas such as nursing, pharmacy, dental and dietetics.

We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA. 

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from the: 

• The Joint Commission
• Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF): Aspire Center, Spinal Cord Injury, Medical Rehabilitation, Wellness and Vocational Rehabilitation Enhancement, Homeless Veterans Programs, and Substance Abuse
• Recovery and Rehabilitation Treatment Program
• College of American Pathologists
• American College of Radiology (ACR): Mammography, CT and MRI
• American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC)
• American College of Emergency Physicians Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation 
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Registered Blood Bank and Mammography Program
• Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA)
• Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) 

The VA San Diego Healthcare System has received the following awards: 

• Dr. Mark Fuster received a VA Merit Award for a research project titled “Glycocalyx targeting and augmenting cellular immunity in lung cancer.”
• As Co-Investigators in a VA funded “Lung Precision Oncology Program” award (11/1/2020 -10/31/2025), VA San Diego se cured additional funding of $180,000 per year for the next three years to hire a dedicated Nurse Practitioner to support our Lung Cancer Screening Program and a Coordinator to further support the Pulmonary Section’s more general Lung Cancer diagnosis and care platforms.
• Dr. Michael Lam received a VA Career Development Award for a research project titled “Impact of sleep disruption on immune responses in sepsis."
• The Equine-imity Project, an equine-assisted therapeutic life skills program developed in San Diego in 2019 by HUD-VASH social worker, Dina Seerden, received a $57,000 Veterans Health Administration Innovators Network award.
• The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) recognized Elaine Minsch, previously the SCI/D Inpatient and Outpatient manager with a PVA Clinical Excellence Award. She earned the PVA 2021 Nursing Leadership Award.
• Energy Star Award
  San Diego VA Medical Center (SDVA) earned the highly sought-after ENERGY STAR award for the 12th year.