About the Position: This position is located at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. 

The JPC is the leading pathology center of excellence in support of the Military Health System and the nation. Guided by this purpose, the JPC focuses on delivering high-quality, cost-effective pathology consultations and education while maintaining, expanding, and digitizing the United States’ oldest and most extensive tissue repository. The JPC is located in Silver Spring, Maryland

“The Joint Pathology Center stands as a cornerstone of innovation in pathology and biomedical research. It combines a historic legacy with cutting-edge technologies to better understand and treat diseases affecting our service members, veterans, and the wider population.

 One of the center’s innovative initiatives includes a pilot program with the Veterans Health Administration that allows JPC to retain VHA tissue samples beyond the typical ten-year holding period, preventing valuable samples from being discarded. This partnership enriches the repository with comprehensive longitudinal data, particularly valuable for studying conditions prevalent among military veterans. By preserving these samples, the JPC enhances the depth and diversity of its collection to advance medical research into the future.

The JPC is also working to digitize this historic collection; in 2024, the JPC expects to digitize over 1.6 million samples. Digitization expands access to these valuable samples by removing physical barriers, increasing opportunities for Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs researchers to study these valuable samples. Digitization also allows JPC to train machine-learning systems on the breadth of the repository’s samples, informing future discoveries and clinical decision support tools.

Working for the Department of Defense comes with an abundance of benefits and perks to include competitive compensation packages, paid time off, medical benefits, student loan repayments, and retirement package with Thrift Savings Plan to include matching employer contributions. For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/     

Medical malpractice liability insurance is not required for federal civilian healthcare providers as they are covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)) while acting within the scope of their employment.

Examine tissue samples (biopsies, surgical specimens, autopsies) of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles to diagnose a wide range of neurological diseases.

Provide expert consultation to neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other healthcare professionals regarding diagnoses and treatment strategies for neurological conditions.

Conduct research to understand the underlying mechanisms of neurological diseases, contributing to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Consultation with other physicians on diagnoses and medical implications.

Participation in neuropathology and surgical pathology case review and interpretation, including report preparation.

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.

Basic Requirements:  United States Citizenship

Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. 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. 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.

Additional Requirement: Board Certification in Neuropathology

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, or

Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted.

For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.]