Department of Veterans Affairs

Staff Physician - Pathology and Laboratory

Detroit, Michigan Full time

Staff Physician - Pathology and Laboratory

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Detroit, Michigan

Salary Range: $250000 - $350000 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific 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.

Major Duties:

  • VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. This Full Time (40 hours) position is located at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan. Join a team of Pathologist providers, some full time VA, others part-time with the affiliate Wayne State University School of Medicine. The extent of duties performed by the staff pathologist in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Detroit VA Healthcare system is the dependent on the individual's documented training, certification and credentialing. The potential breadth of duties is described below: Surgical pathology: Derive diagnoses from gross and microscopic examination of tissues and other materials submitted by biopsy or surgical procedures. This includes interpretation of tissues submitted intraoperatively for frozen section diagnosis. Advanced subspecialty training in surgical pathology may provide additional expertise. Examples listed below. Hematopathology: Provide expert hematologic diagnostic interpretations of blood, bone marrow, lymph node and fluid preparations. Provide interpretations of serum and urine electrophoreses. Dermatopathology: Provide expert diagnostic interpretation of inflammatory, melanocytic and non-melanocytic lesions in skin biopsies and excisions. Genitourinary pathology: Provide expert diagnostic interpretation of diseases involving the urinary and reproductive organs. Gastrointestinal pathology: Provide expert diagnostic interpretation of diseases involving the oral-esophageal, stomach, upper and lower intestinal tract as well as liver and pancreas. Clinical Pathology: Understand organization and principles of clinical laboratory testing. Provide consultation regarding chemistry analytic, hematologic, microbiologic, molecular diagnostic and blood bank issues. Advanced subspecialty training in clinical pathology may provide additional expertise. Examples listed below. Transfusion medicine: Provide expert consultation and guidance regarding blood product transfusion issues. Molecular diagnostics: Provide expert consultation and guidance regarding molecular genetic testing and interpretations. Autopsy pathology: Derive cause of death and identify diseased tissues by post-mortem necropsy and tissue examination. This function includes supervision of dieners and resident pathologists. Cytopathology: Derive diagnoses from microscopic examination of cellular material from gynecologic and non-gynecologic sources prepared for cytologic examination. This includes assessment of specimen adequacy and examination of prepared cell-block material. Duties may also include performance of fine-needle aspiration of palpable nodules. Administrative: Participate in laboratory oversight to the extent assigned and serve on institutional level committees and workgroups Quality: Meet defined service and institutional level quality performance measures. Participate in or initiate laboratory or institutional quality improvement and management programs. Educational: Provide teaching, supervision and guidance of technologists, technicians fellows and pathology residents in the aspects of the clinical duties described above. Participate in interdisciplinary educational conferences involving clinical pathologic correlation. Research: Support VHA research mission through participation in collaborative or self-initiated research projects. Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): Learn more. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN 10 CCOE at VISN10HRCCOE@va.gov, 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 Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Qualifications: 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 medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. 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. Preferred Experience: Hematopathology & Dermatopathology Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting and carrying (45+ lbs.); As needed - Straight pulling, pulling handover hand, pushing and reaching above shoulders, walking, standing, crawling, kneeling, repeated bending, climbing using both legs and arms; use of fingers and both hands required; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13'-16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; depth perception; ability to distinguish basic colors; hearing (aid permitted); working closely with others; working alone; protracted or irregular hours of work.

How to Apply: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. To apply for this position online, complete steps 1 and 2 above by 11:59 PM (ET) on 04/03/2026 to receive consideration. Please note, this announcement may close prior to the closing date indicated if the position is filled through other means. If you are unable to apply online before the closing date click here and include the CBSR-12912193-26-JMU in the Notes field. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-03