EOI Medical Director– Hospice

Company Description

NSH is establishing a newly created Hospice located at Fishermen’s Memorial Hospital (FMH). The demand for Hospice care is growing and establishing the successful operation of the Hospice at FMH, including recruiting, processes, and overseeing patient care is the key purpose of this role.

Nova Scotia Health is seeking expressions of interest for the role of Medical Director (Hospice) for Fishermen’s Memorial Hospital in the Western Zone. The Medical Director (Hospice) is appointed by the Zone Medical Executive Director and is accountable to both the Zone Department Head for Family Medicine for any Medical Staff practice-related matters arising from the operation of the NSHA within the applicable site and works in partnership with the Palliative Care provincial network regarding provincial hospice standards and policies.  The Medical Director will work within a co-leadership dyad to address operations issues with a NSH operations director.

The Medical Director will play a key role in the establishment of standard operating procedures, confirming policy direction, helping with clinical decisions related to pre-opening and helping to ensure physicians who will work in the hospice are recruited, trained, and mentored.

In collaboration with attending physicians, the Nurse Manager and other Hospice staff, the Hospice Medical Director is responsible for providing medical leadership, ensuring care standards are met in accordance with the Provincial Hospice Standards and Accreditation Standards for Hospice, Palliative, and End of Life Care.

Job Description

Accountabilities:

        Hospice Establishment

1. The position has responsibility for ensuring the quality of medical and palliative care provided by attending physicians at Hospice meets standard of care set out by regulatory bodies and policies and services decisions within the Zone which allow for provincially integrated, high quality, safe and sustainable care, consistent with provincial standards. 
2. Leads in recruiting and retaining physician workforce for the site for setup and ongoing.
3. Collaborate with other Medical Staff and the Medical Site Lead at FMH on medical, staffing, and other relevant matters. The Medical Director is required to be on-site regularly to support the Medical Staff and Interprofessional teams as needed, especially during the initial setup phase.
4. Participates in new hire and onboarding processes as needed in conjunction with the Department Head, the Palliative Network, and Western Zone Medical Leadership.
5. Working closely with system stakeholders to ensure policies and procedures within the Hospice are established and maintained. Adheres to and supports compliance to all NSH policies and identifies the need for and the development of required hospice policies.
6. The Medical Director is responsible for arranging coverage of this leadership role during any periods of unavailability, such as vacations or other absences.
   
   Site Program Administration
    
7. Brings forward issues and perspectives of Medical Staff at the applicable site to the Zone Department Head for consideration and/or resolution;
8. Assists in managing site overcapacity issues from Program’s perspective by being the point of contact for Program’s Medical Staff;
9. Ensures service continuity is maintained through Department scheduling practices, including but not limited to establishing an equitable on-call schedule, approving and managing vacation, and utilizing locums; 
10. Participates in the monitoring of standards, quality, and utilization of resources of at FMH for the program; including all the necessary reporting and auditing as required;
11. Participates in respectful workplace responsibilities as needed in conjunction with relevant Department Head and Western Zone Medical Leadership.
12. Liaise as required with other Medical Staff and Medical Site lead at FMH on medical, staffing, and any other relevant issues.
13. The Medical Director is required to be on-site regularly to support the Medical Staff and Interprofessional teams as needed.
14. Participates in new hire and onboarding processes as needed in conjunction with the Department Head, and the Palliative Network, and Western Zone Medical leadership.
15. Participates in Leadership development and shows a commitment to lifelong learning and acquisition and refinement of leadership capabilities;
16. Leads the incident review process for the site, in liaison with Quality and Patient Safety representatives, including all required family meetings.
17. The Medical Director is responsible for arranging coverage of this leadership role during any periods of unavailability, such as vacations or other absences.

Qualifications

MD licensed in Nova Scotia and privileged with Nova Scotia Health. Evidence of past and ongoing leadership training. Certification in Palliative Medicine via the College of Family Physicians of Canada or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Additional Information

Annual Compensation:
Individual compensation will be set based on previous experience. 

The position is 0.4 FTE initially and after setup transitions to 0.2 FTE.

To submit your expression of interest please provide a cover letter and CV through this website or email julianne.croft@nshealth.ca. Please outline your experience in relation to the position accountabilities.