Section Chief of Geriatric Medicine
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
JOB SUMMARY:
The Section Chief of Geriatrics is a physician member of the Section leadership team, which also includes the Practice Manager and the Nurse Manager. Together this team is responsible for the overall direction, operation, and management of the Section of Geriatrics in accordance with its operational, educational, and research missions, which are aligned with the Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Health, and the Geisel School of Medicine. As a leadership team, they create a work environment of mutual respect and psychological safety, based on commitment to a shared purpose.
The Section Chief serves as a physician role model of appropriate, expert, compassionate, and high-value clinical care, of effective teaching of learners at all levels, and of respectful and inclusive relationships with interprofessional colleagues within the Section and throughout the Organization. The Section Chief is appointed by, reports to, and serves at the discretion of the Department Chair.
The Chief will work to lead the newly created Section of Geriatrics, developing a comprehensive plan for the care of older adults across inpatient, ambulatory, long-term care, rehab, and home settings. Goals include expanding the section's outreach and creating a comprehensive system-wide plan to meet the tripartite mission of providing outstanding clinical care, developing a rich educational environment for learners, and creating a milieu for cutting-edge research to improve the care of older adults and those with complex illnesses.
The longer-term plan includes creating an interdisciplinary geriatrics fellowship, so experience running a graduate medical education program for learners of varying disciplines is desirable. Board certification in geriatrics is required, as is current licensure (or ability to be licensed) in New Hampshire and Vermont. The position will be a mix of clinical, administrative, and research/education activities, which will vary based on the candidate’s background.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
- In collaboration with the interprofessional leadership team, and with the support of the Chair and departmental leadership, assumes responsibility for these core job functions:
- Sets goals, objectives, and implementation strategies for the Section that are aligned with Departmental mission and goals. Communicates the need for and benefits of alignment around a shared purpose.
- Takes responsibility for the quality and quality improvement of patient care, teaching, research, and service in the Section.
- Shares in operational oversight for the Section’s clinical activities, designing and implementing methods for delivering high-quality care, ensuring good experiences for our patients and their care partners, and incorporating high-quality clinical educational experiences for students and trainees.
- Engages faculty and staff in understanding and responding creatively to operational and systems challenges.
- Appoints Associate Chiefs and/or Program Leaders within the Section, as appropriate, and in collaboration with Departmental leadership.
- Regularly attends Departmental Leadership meetings and participates in relevant leadership development opportunities
2. Oversight of Fiscal and Operational Goals – in collaboration with leadership team
- Develops and actively monitors the annual operating budget, capital, and staffing plans for the Section, in alignment with Departmental and institutional plans.
- Develops justifications for and initiates requests for new and/or replacement faculty and staff through appropriate channels, and assures that appropriate search and recruitment methodologies are followed.
- Manages sectional discretionary, academic enhancement, and other accounts, in alignment with Departmental and institutional guidelines.
- Ensures appropriate practices related to patient billing and coding.
- Develops, maintains, and monitors an appropriate sectional compliance program in accordance with the Institutional Compliance Plan.
- Develops and maintains equitable faculty compensation strategies within the Section which are compatible with the institutional Physician Compensation Program and the Departmental philosophy and guidance.
- Oversight of Personnel Management – in collaboration with the leadership team
- Creates a staffing plan that supports ongoing operation of clinical services to respond to clinical needs, while simultaneously working to support faculty and staff roles, ensuring equity in allocation of assignments.
- Reviews, develops, or modifies position descriptions for existing or new positions to accurately reflect the needs of the Section and the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the various positions within the Section.
- Develops and maintains appropriate processes and policies for time away, vacations, CME, business trips, and sick time using institutional guidelines. Reviews and approves or disapproves all faculty requests in these areas. Authorizes reimbursement for travel expenses and registration fees based upon the business necessity for the activity.
- Participates in annual performance evaluation reviews, using organizational guidance.
- Completes and reviews ongoing practice performance reports (including ongoing professional practice evaluations – a.k.a. OPPE) for faculty at regular intervals specified by the institution.
- Ensures that all faculty are complying with requirements to allow renewal of clinical privileges at DHMC and for academic reappointments at Geisel.
- Addresses concerns raised about quality of care, or professional behavior in faculty or staff, according to institutional policies, in collaboration with Departmental leadership, using institutional resources as needed. Completes focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE) as required.
- Responsibility for Mentoring Faculty
- Ensures new faculty are welcomed and oriented to section and department.
- Ensure that each faculty member meets regularly with a member of the leadership team to set clinical and professional development goals and to monitor progress toward them.
- Provides (either directly or through engagement of senior faculty in the section) initial and ongoing mentorship for faculty in identifying areas of scholarly interest. Works with faculty to map a path toward academic advancement, with clear milestones and deliverables, with the goal of supporting academic promotion at Geisel.
- Serves as a role model in the pursuit of scholarship and academic advancement. Works with faculty to ensure they are completing scholarly activities as appropriate to their interests and career goals.
- Assists faculty in identifying local, regional, and national opportunities for professional development and scholarly activities.
- Initiates requests for promotion for appropriate Section members and provides support in the development of appropriate promotion packages consistent with Geisel policy
- Responsibility for Teaching within the Section
- Ensures that the Section fulfills its obligations for teaching Geisel students, DHMC graduate medical trainees, and other healthcare professionals, by building and implementing high-quality learning experiences.
- Supports the residency and fellowship directors in maintaining ACGME/RRC/other accreditation of training program in compliance with the published ACGME Program Requirements for Residency Education or other relevant guidelines.
- Regularly participates and ensures participation by Section faculty in Departmental educational conferences, including Medical Grand Rounds, and Morbidity, Mortality, and Improvement conference.
- Responsibility for Research Activities – in collaboration with the Department
- Facilitates clinical, outcomes, and/or basic science research programs appropriate to the Section and its faculty, with opportunities for junior faculty to learn from senior faculty.
- Ensures that all proposals for research projects or participation in such projects are reviewed for scientific integrity, and alignment with section and departmental missions, and are sufficiently resourced to be successful.
- Responsibility for Regional Systems
- Develops and maintains effective working relationships with referring physicians and hospitals within our hospital system, the state, and northern New England.
- Identifies and responds to regional opportunities to advance sectional, departmental, and institutional goals related to clinical care, teaching, and research.
- Additional duties and responsibilities as deemed appropriate by the Chair. In all activities is supported by the Departmental Leadership team.
What Dartmouth-Hitchcock has to offer you:
- Established patient base
- Collegial environment and referrals
- Ties to the Academic Medical Center
- Competitive compensation and benefits packages
- Dedicated CME time and funds
What New England has to offer you:
- Four seasons and an outdoor lifestyle
- Access to major cities and airports
- Proximity to mountains and hiking trails
- Driving distance to the seacoast/ocean
- Abundance of local lakes for boating and swimming
Dartmouth-Hitchcock is an academic health system, serving patients across New England. A national leader in patient-centered health care, D-H is on a path to creating a sustainable health system for the region and as a model for the nation. Founded in 1893, the system includes New Hampshire's only Level 1 trauma center and its only air ambulance service, as well as the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the state's only Children's Hospital Association-approved, comprehensive, full-service children's hospital. As an academic health system, Dartmouth-Hitchcock provides access to nearly 1,500 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine, as well as world-class research with the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.