The South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) is seeking a skilled, compassionate, and motivated Physician to serve as the Outpatient Section Chief for the Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders (SCI/D) Service at the Audie Murphy VA Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. This is a full-time, leadership-focused clinical and administrative role supporting one of the nation's largest and most respected VA healthcare systems. Position Overview The SCI/D Outpatient Section Chief provides both hands-on clinical care and high-level administrative leadership. The role supports four other physicians and a multidisciplinary clinical team providing care to approximately 600 Veterans living with spinal cord injuries or disorders.
Primary responsibilities include:
Administrative Duties:
- Lead outpatient SCI/D physicians and assigned staff.
- Participate in staff meetings, committees, accreditation activities, and peer review.
- Ensure timely documentation, credentialing maintenance, mandatory training completion.
- Manage time and leave processes, clinic cancellations, and clinical coverage needs.
- Oversee productivity, access metrics, open encounters, and consult management.
- Collaborate with the Assistant Nurse Manager on efficient clinic operations.
- Support performance improvement and quality initiatives across the service.
Clinical Duties:
- Maintain active privileges and clinical practice in the physician's specialty.
- Deliver high-quality patient care including assessment, diagnosis, and management.
- Demonstrate strong clinical judgment using evidence-based medicine.
- Communicate effectively with Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary team members.
- Model professionalism, ethics, and a commitment to continuous growth.
- Provide off-tour inpatient/consult coverage on a rotational basis (nights, weekends, holidays). Work Environment
- Outpatient practice based at Audie Murphy VA Hospital.
- Review SCI/D service consults for neuro-rehab appropriateness.
- Participate in facility-wide performance measures including access and utilization.
- Engage in accreditation, quality management, peer review, and hospital committees.
- Maintain licensure, board certification, and academic affiliate requirements.
Work Schedule:
Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm.
Team Structure:
Four physicians, Assistant Nurse Manager, two RNs, one LVN, one CNA
- Full interdisciplinary support: physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, pharmacy, social work
Patient Population:
Approx. 600 Veterans with spinal cord injuries or neurologic disorders
- Highly rewarding care environment serving chronic and complex neuro-rehab needs
Professional Development:
Strong VA-supported opportunities for training, education, QI projects, research involvement, and academic participation.
Qualifications Basic/Preferred Qualifications:
Board Certified or Board Eligible in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation or Neurology
- Experience in neurorehabilitation (inpatient or outpatient), specializing in SCI/D preferred
- Experience or interest in spinal cord medicine, pain, musculoskeletal medicine, or rehab subspecialties
- Minimum three years of supervisory or leadership experience
VA Employment Requirements:
- U.S. Citizens strongly encouraged; non-citizens will be considered when qualified candidates are not available
- Unrestricted medical license from any U.S. state or territory
- Completion of residency training approved by the VA
- Successful background check and onboarding requirements Compensation and Benefits Competitive VA Total Rewards Package
- Salary Range (Tier 2): 240,000 to 335,000
- Recruitment/Relocation Incentive available
- Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) eligible
- Federal benefits package including comprehensive insurance options
Federal Retirement Benefits:
Federal Employees Retirement System:
A secure, government-backed pension paid for life, based on years of service and high-3 salary.
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): The federal equivalent of a 401(k) with government matching.
The VA contributes up to 5% automatically when you do. Together, FERS + TSP provide one of the strongest, most stable retirement packages available in the U.S.
Work-Life Balance:
- 26 days of annual leave
- 13 days of sick leave
- 11 paid federal holidays
- Possible 5 days of paid absence for CME
- Predictable Monday-Friday schedule
- No RVUs or private-sector style productivity pressure This is one of the best work-life balance environments in modern medicine.
Why San Antonio? San Antonio offers an outstanding quality of life with a low cost of living and no state income tax.
Highlights include:
- Beautiful, warm climate with year-round outdoor living
- Vibrant culture, food, music, and arts
- Excellent schools and family-friendly communities
- One of the nation's fastest-growing medical ecosystems
- Easy travel, major airport, and central location in Texas
- Highly affordable housing and a strong local economy Living in Texas means keeping more of your income-your VA salary stretches even further in a tax free state.
Interested Candidates We welcome applications from mission-driven physicians committed to caring for America's Veterans.