Physician (Chief of Emergency Medicine)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Lexington (KY); On-site; USD 225,000 - 400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Total rewards package

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Lexington, KY seeks a Chief of Emergency Department to provide administrative, clinical, and programmatic leadership for the department, reporting to the Chief of Staff.

The incumbent serves as a key clinical resource for the Medical Center Director and Chief of Staff. Responsibilities include direct patient care on a rotational basis and clinical oversight across ED, urgent care, trauma, and observation units, driving patient-centered service, quality

Qualifications

• Must hold Doctor of Medicine or osteopathic degree from LCME/COCA accredited school.
• For foreign graduates, ECFMG eligibility where applicable.
• Appointment considered exceptional circumstances for research/administrative roles.

Responsibilities

• Provides direct patient care on a rotational basis with clinical oversight in the Emergency Department, Urgent Care, and Trauma areas.
• Plans services with a patient-centered approach to education and shared decision making.
• Encourages best-practice customer service across the unit.
• Empowers staff to resolve issues locally to maintain service quality.
• Ensures compliance with accrediting and regulatory standards for VA facilities.
• Collaborates with Education and Simulation leads to advance training and practice.

Skills

Direct patient care

Clinical leadership

Team coordination

Quality & safety initiatives

Education collaboration

Education

Doctor of Medicine (MD) or DO

Job description

• Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

The Chief of the Emergency Department provides administrative, clinical, and programmatic leadership for the Emergency Department to ensure achievement of the clinical, research, and education goals of the program. The incumbent reports to the Chief of Staff and serves as key clinical resource for the Medical Center Director and Chief of Staff.

Key Responsibilities

Duties may include but are not limited to: Provides direct patient care on a rotational basis and clinical oversight in: The Emergency Department The Urgent Care Clinic Resuscitation/Trauma Bay Observation/Clinical Decision Unit The Triage Area Other specialty areas where qualified to provide clinical patient care.

Bases planning on patient and staff feedback and projected needs Plans the provision of services with a patient centered vision so as to enhance patient education and shared decision making Actively identifies and encourages the implementation of best practices in customer service Empowers staff to resolve problems and complaints independently at the lowest level Serves as or supervises a service lead physician for quality and safety improvement initiatives and utilization management Ensures the services ability to meet standards issued by various accrediting and regulatory groups and VACO Works closely with the Associate Chief of Staff for Education and Simulation VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package.

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 Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Requirements & 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.

Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year 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.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $225000 – $400000/yr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-10-29.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Public' hiring path.