Lead Hospitalist Physician (Assistant Hospital Medicine Section Chief)

Quick Facts

• Role: Lead Hospitalist Physician (Assistant Hospital Medicine Section Chief)

• Focus: Acting Section Chief coverage when the Section Chief is unavailable

Description

Lead Hospitalist Physician role within an academic internal medicine hospitalist team, acting as the Assistant Section Chief during periods when the Section Chief cannot perform their duties. The position leads daily and weekly section operations, manages schedules and cross-coverage, and serves as the communication link to hospitalist and medicine department leadership. You will also address clinical and systems issues, support residency matters and compliance, and contribute to mentorship, retreats, and education/quality improvement projects.

Responsibilities

• Run daily section huddles and provide section status updates

• Attend weekly section chief/business/educational meetings; serve as a conduit between hospitalists and medicine department leadership

• Create and adjust schedules across academic services, non-teach teams, triage attending, and backup coverage; manage leave and CLC cross coverage

• Respond to staffing, census, and systems issues; provide guidance for complex concerns (including using paper orders when CPRS is down)

• Stand in for the Section Chief in UNM division meetings and faculty self-assessments/promotion nominations

• Respond to PUMA inquiries, coding inquiries, JSPRs, and PATS-R cases

• Support hospitalist continuity in ongoing meetings and projects

• Stand in for the Section Chief for internal medicine residency matters; monitor adherence to ACGME rules and regulations

• Help create a collaborative, supportive work environment

• Organize Spring and Fall section/division retreats

• Develop mentorship roles and education/workplace improvement projects

Benefits

• Competitive salary with annual performance bonus and regular salary increases

• Paid Time Off: 50–55 days/year (annual leave, sick leave, paid federal holidays, possible CME absence)

• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401(k) with up to 5% contributions

• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care insurance options

• CME reimbursement (possible $1,000/year with board certification and full-time status)

• Free malpractice liability protection with tail coverage

• No physician employment contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to be appointed under VA policy

• MD (or equivalent) degree and completion of approved residency training leading to board certification eligibility (or meet applicable VA pathways)

• Current, full, unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a U.S. state/territory/commonwealth/DC

• Proficiency in written and spoken English

• Background/security investigation and pass pre-employment physical evaluation

• Complete VA onboarding and required pre-employment documentation

• Meet annual Employee Health requirements, including tuberculosis screening/testing

• Seasonal influenza vaccination requirement

• Ability to perform essential physical and clinical functions safely and effectively