U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Title: Physician (Preventive Medicine)-Chief Employee & Occupational Health

Location: West Palm Beach, FL

Specialties: Preventive Medicine, Occupational Medicine, Aerospace Medicine

Base: $225,000 - $336,000 per year

Bonus: Annual performance bonus

Pension: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting)

401k matching: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Summary

The Chief of Employee and Occupational Health Physician supports and maintains health and safety programs for veterans and employees, ensuring quality care and regulatory compliance. The role includes clinical coverage in specialty, urgent care, fast track, and primary care clinics, oversight of medical providers, leadership in committees, policy development, data analysis, educational program planning, and case management for injured employees and volunteers. The position requires collaboration across facility staff and includes supervisory responsibilities for physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Added on: 07/03/2025

Full Job Description

Summary

The West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System is seeking an experienced and dynamic (Preventive Medicine)-Chief Employee & Occupational Health Physician. Ideal applicants are those who want to contribute to the achievement of quality care standards, as well as the growth and development of a VA academic hospital program. You must be an excellent communicator and team player who is adaptable to the needs of a growing medical center.

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Duties

This is an open continuous announcement that will remain open until filled. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Eligible applicants will be referred each week for consideration until a selection is made.

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

The Chief of EOH/AMO is responsible for supporting and maintaining both Veteran and Employee Health and Safety programs which ensure delivery of quality care provided to the VA Medical Center. The Primary focus of the EOH/AMO is to ensure clinical practice is maintained regarding the optimum health, prevention of illness and injury, management of select acute or chronic health problems and compliance with all federal, local, and state regulations related to EOH practice. Position may involve travel to other VA sites and CBOCs. Provider will be responsible for the training, orientation, and clinical oversight of the medical providers that he/she oversees.

He/She is accountable to the Service Chief of Emergency Medicine and Employee Health, who reports to the Office of Chief of Staff of the Medical Center and is responsible for providing the most effective delivery of administrative oversight and care throughout the medical center while meeting and exceeding compliance standards. The Chief of EOH/AMO is a non-bargaining, supervisory role responsible for supervising Fast Tract and Main Emergency Medicine physician assistants and advance Nurse practitioners. He/She will work closely with the Chief of the ED. The Chief of EOH/AMO will chair or co-chair and/or represent both the ED and Employee Health in various committees integral to both departments. The Chief of EOH/AMO also cover the Service Chief of the Emergency Medicine in meetings when necessary or when the Service Chief of the Emergency Medicine is on leave.

Duties include but are not limited to;

  • Functions as the lead manager, coordinator, and point of contact for EOH, Employee Health promotion, Disease, and Injury Prevention.
  • Provide coverage as a Specialty Provider, within the VA Medical Center clinics (Specialty, Urgent Care, Fast Track & Primary Care).
  • Responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating educational programs/activities based on assessed learning needs of employees to enhance the employees' personal wellbeing and, in turn, improve their effectiveness, productivity and satisfaction.
  • Works collaboratively with all levels of staff within the facility.
  • Responsible for creating and translating policies, collecting, and analyzing appropriate data and communicating outcome.
  • Performs data collection and analysis to determine Employee health needs and expectations for the Employee Health and Employee wellness program.
  • Works collaboratively with Nursing & Clerical managers on site.
  • Attend required staff meetings, communicating up and down the chain of command, and helping prepare heads-up and issue briefs as required.
  • Clinical Management including indirect patient care: open encounters and open consult maintenance, CPRS documentation requirements, monitoring of clinic management. Maintains involvement in matters concerning clinic productivity, relevant performance measures, Quality and Patient Safety oversight, as well as process improvements (system redesigns).
  • Completes OPPE and proficiency assessments semi-annually. vii. Completes pre-employment screening prior to employment and volunteering - Two-step TB skin test, Interferon, Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) / symptom screen, Chest X-ray.
  • Performs Respirator Medical Evaluation via Questionnaire review. ix. Assess immune status and administers vaccination (Influenza, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis 8, Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR), Varicella (chickenpox), Tetanus (Td or Tdap) in accordance with CDC guidelines and facility policy.
  • Triages urgent needs for appropriate evaluation and treatment.
  • Provides case management services for injured Employees & Volunteers.



Work Schedule: 8am-430pm
(

Note: Work schedules are determined and approved by the supervisor. The incumbent may be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis based on facility/patient care needs).

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Subject to background/security investigation.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
  • Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

Basic Requirements:





  • United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified 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. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
  • Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
  • Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program (Preventive Medicine) leading to eligibility for board certification. (

    NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  • Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.

Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.

  • Proficiency in spoken and written English.



Preferred Experience:
Board Certified in General Preventive Medicine, Occupational Medicine, or Aerospace Medicine. MRO Certified. Current MRO Certification required



Reference:
For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.



Physical Requirements:
Must pass a pre-employment physical examination as required by VA Handbook 5019. This examination is administered by VA Occupational Health. This position requires moderate lifting up to 44 lbs., carrying objects up to 15 lbs., frequent reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, hands and legs, use of cranes and motor vehicles, walking & standing up to 8 hours, bending and climbing and able to hear whisper. The incumbent must be physically, emotionally and mentally stable in order to efficiently perform the essential functions of this position without hazard to themselves or others.

Education

Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are:

  • Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or
  • Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.
  • For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.]



NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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