Physician, Adult Health (Contractor/PRN)

Support the mission of People’s Community Clinic by providing medical care and support to patients in a manner consistent with clinic values and standards; work with other employees to achieve high standards of operational efficiency and service effectiveness.

This position works as a member of a care team to coordinate patient care and support patients and families in self-management, self-efficacy, and behavior change. Care team members are expected to assess and manage the health needs of the patient population and to communicate effectively with all patients, especially vulnerable populations.

The Physician, Adult Health position is a PRN/contractor role supporting clinical operations on an as-needed basis. The role reports to the Medical Department Director and is primarily responsible for: 

 Provide direct medical care for patients according to established standards of care, including:

• Perform appropriate physical examinations and assessments.
• Take medical histories and record chart data and service data as per established clinic procedures and accepted standards of clinical practice.
• Assess, diagnose illnesses and/or conditions, and establish a plan for treatment/management according to accepted standards of care.
• Counsel patients about course of treatment, prescribed medications, general health and wellness, and management of diagnosed conditions.
• Provide patients with telephone counseling for issues including but not limited to laboratory test results, follow up treatment, and patient inquiries.
• Make referrals to medical specialists, social services, and other services as indicated by presenting problems.
• Provide any medically necessary follow-up on diagnosis, diagnostic evaluation, or treatment required for the patient’s care.
• Provide supervision and oversight to one or more advanced practice nurses or physician assistants in accordance with appropriate state regulations.
• Participate in the rotating provider responsibility to be on-call for the after-hours nurse triage service, which takes first calls from patients but may in some cases require provider backup.
• Provide cross-coverage for the care of clinic patients when the provider with the primary relationship with the patient is not available (e.g., responding to lab results or phone messages when the primary provider is not available).
• Work effectively with other staff providing leadership among assigned nursing and other support staff to coordinate team-based care of the patient.

Maintain standards of proficiency, service quality, efficiency, and effectiveness in all task areas.

• Provide direct care in an efficient and timely manner.
• Provide direct care services as scheduled during the week.
• Meet standards for quality of care and number of patients seen as set by management under the direction of the board.
• Maintain professional licensing and certifications.
• Maintain practice liability insurance coverage unless covered through the Federal Tort Claims Act.
• Participate in quality improvement/quality assurance activities, which may include completing chart audits on schedule and according to clinic procedures.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflow, work processes, and patient care, and work cooperatively to implement these and other quality improvements.
• Adhere to HIPAA guidelines.

Participate in program planning, development, evaluation, and implementation activities:

• When requested, work with the medical department head to update protocols and guidelines.
• As assigned, review patient education materials for accuracy, utility, and appropriateness.
• Participate in meetings, task groups, and activities designed to promote communications, identify and resolve problems, devise work plans, and establish program or departmental objectives.

Education: 

• Graduation from an accredited medical school with an M.D. or D.O. degree
• Completion of an appropriate post-graduate training program
• Board certification in an appropriate medical specialty (or board-eligible with participation in the examination process, with certification to be achieved within two years of hire)
• At the discretion of the Chief Medical Officer, extensive experience in practice may substitute for completion of post-graduate training and/or board certification

Experience:

• Minimum three years’ experience as a physician, which may include time in a post-graduate training program.
• Familiarity with electronic medical records is highly desirable

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Theory and practice of medical care as appropriate to the needs of the practice; basic clinic practices, techniques, and methods of operation; public and community health service practice; generally accepted professional and ethical standards of patient-centered care; charting, reading of medical history and presenting problems, assessing laboratory results, maintaining accurate medical records, use of basic instruments for medical examination and assessment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Comfortable working with Spanish-speaking patients (bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred)
• Problem identification and resolution skills
• Time management skills
• Ability to maintain effective and consistently cordial working relationships with physicians and other employees
• Flexible and adaptable in a high change environment
• Ability to work independently

Certificate/License: Hold and maintain a current license to practice medicine in the State of Texas; Drug Enforcement Agency certification; Texas Department of Public Safety Controlled Substance registration; board certification in an appropriate medical specialty or commensurate experience as evaluated by the Chief Medical Officer.  (Credentialing and privileging policy and procedure contain full details of required certifications/licenses.)

People’s Community Clinic is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, disability, pregnancy, gender identity, or sex stereotyping.