This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.
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 Optometry from an ACOE-accredited school or college of optometry. 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 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 (3) 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. Additional Requirement: Appointee must have completed an ACOE-approved optometry residency program or demonstrate evidence of professional and clinical background sufficient to be deemed equivalent to an approved residency program experience. Completion of a residency or the equivalent clinical experience is strongly preferred. In addition to the basic requirement stated above, additional qualifications criteria according to the Optometrist Qualification standard will be used in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Incumbent must be physically able to perform all elements of a standard comprehensive eye examination including the use of standard ophthalmic equipment and to administer emergency eye care services. Incumbent must be certified in basic life support (BLS).
VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Authorized Learn more. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance 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 DEFINITION OF POSTION: The Optometrist provides comprehensive eye and vision care to eligible veterans presenting in clinic and during scheduled regular and off hours emergency call. This includes but is not limited to a full exercise of credentials for correction of vision, treatment of eye diseases and disorders that are within the scope of the optometrist's clinical privileges, and providing rehabilitative care if applicable. Additionally, the optometrist may perform reading of tele retinal imaging studies provided the incumbent has been trained and certified by the Office of Telehealth Services Store and Forward Training Center and the reading is delineated and approved in the optometrist's clinical privileges. SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: 1. Provide comprehensive eye care services as well as follow-up care of existing conditions and management of emergency conditions. 2. Examination of the human eye by any method, other than surgery, to diagnose, threat, or refer for consultation or treatment any abnormal condition of the human eye or its adnexa. 3. Employment of instruments, devices, pharmaceutical agents and procedures, other than surgery, intended for the purposes of investigating, examining, treating, diagnosing or correcting visual defects or abnormal conditions of the human eye or its adnexa. 4. Prescribing of lenses, devices containing lenses, prisms, contact lenses, orthoptics, vision training, pharmaceutical agents, and prosthetic devices to correct, relieve or treat defects or abnormal conditions or the human eye or its adnexa. 5. Referral to and consultation with other health care providers within the Eastern Kansas medical centers as indicated. 6. Screening procedures necessary to assist in proper routing of patients to appropriate health care providers. 7. Planning, coordinating and exercising professional judgment in initiating and implementing administrative and clinical decisions are integral components of the position. 8. Incumbent must be able to exercise independent professional judgment in diagnosing the full range of complex optometric conditions as well as planning and executing the necessary treatment programs to meet complex and frequent changes in the treatment objective. 9. Incumbent will be responsible for acting as a preceptor for Optometry students as well as participating in weekly education. 10. Incumbent will perform other duties as assigned by management. Other Duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Mon-Friday daytime. schedule to be determined once selected.