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Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s) are seeking a visionary and collaborative physician leader with a strong clinical and academic foundation to serve as Chief of a top 10 US News and World Report division.  The Division Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition will serve as the primary clinical and academic leader for the division of 18 clinicians and clinician scientists, 2 clinical psychologists, and 5 PhD faculty scientists. As the leader of the Division, the Chief will be responsible for clinical program development, faculty recruitment, the advancement of research, scholarly activity, and educational excellence of faculty and trainees within the Division.

 

The division chief will oversee Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology services at the Egleston/Arthur M. Blank Hospital and the Children’s Center for Advances Pediatrics (outpatient), providing strategic leadership and oversight for quality, safety, and clinical operations. In addition, this leader will be responsible for system clinical oversight including quality and safety for Scottish Rite Hospital. This leader will be dedicated to the implementation of professional and clinical care standards, team-based care driven by evidence-based care guidelines and mutual accountability.

 

The Division chief will have oversight of a vibrant and productive research program bringing in >$6M in extramural funding over the last year. Research is inclusive of wet lab basic science, translational science, and clinical and outcomes research. Wet and dry lab space is assigned in the Emory Health Sciences Research Building and clinical research is carried out in Children’s facilities.

 

The Division Chief role is a visible, inspiring leader with a clinical and academic presence to foster credibility and to develop an appreciation for gastroenterology and hepatology operations, clinicians, and researchers. This position requires an individual who has a passion for providing outstanding care, a desire to improve systems to maximize efficiency, the leadership to engage clinicians in team-based care while supporting research, education, and advocacy. This Division Chief will craft the long-term vision for pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition medicine and research at Children’s and Emory while advancing the key mission areas to engage and inspire the faculty to reach these goals while holding the team accountable.

 

Reporting Relationships

Reports to Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine, who also holds the role of Pediatrician in Chief, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

 

Direct Reports to the Division Chief:

• Medical Director of Hepatology
• Medical Director of Advanced Pancreatic Care Program
• Medical Director of Advanced Nutrition Care Program
• Medical Director of Endoscopy Services
• Medical Director of Advanced Endoscopy and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Medical Director of Improved Care Now (ICN); Egleston Campus
• Medical Director of Improved Care Now (ICN); Scottish Rite Campus
• Senior Clinical Director, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
• Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Director/Associate Director
• Pediatric Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Director/Associate Director

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

 

People:

• Communication: Maintain clear lines of communication with leadership, campus medical/surgical directors, program medical directors, and staff within the Division. Assure that system-level strategic and operational messages from executive and campus leadership at Children’s and Emory are directly transmitted to team members, and concerns or recommendations are communicated to senior leadership for closed loop feedback.
• Leadership: Leadership of people is a top priority. People leadership includes: overseeing recruitment, performance management, coaching and mentoring, addressing conflict, determining long term clinical workforce and staffing plans (including models of physician/APP staffing), ensuring development and competency of clinical staff, retention and engagement of faculty, and development of strong succession plans for the next generation of leaders. Establish governance mechanisms that ensure faculty participation in the academic affairs of the Division. Hold regular academic Division meetings to fully involve Division members in the organization and operation of the Division.

Strategic Leadership:

 

Strategy: Define Division clinical vision and strategy in alignment with Children's strategic plan. Define what constitutes excellence for the Division, develop the strategy to achieve and sustain it. Define the plan for national recognition, including USNWR. Balance the missions of patient care, research, and teaching in leading the Division. Lead program development, identify optimal distribution of services, resources, and compliance for the Division. Provide leadership, vision, and management in accomplishing the mission and goals of the Department and School in education, research, and service.

• Partnership and Collaboration: Partner with administrative dyads at Children’s Physicians Group and Department of Pediatrics, drive alignment through relationships with employed and faculty physicians and partnerships with community physicians; collaborate with leaders and staff across the system to support Children's and Department of Pediatrics’ goals. Maintain strong partnership with Georgia Tech, and other relevant academic institutions.

Quality Clinical Care & Outcomes at Children’s:

• Clinical Care Delivery: Develop and enforce clinical standards, protocols and procedures, ensure effective clinical operation (patient access, throughput and patient experience).
• Quality and Patient Safety: Develop quality plan for Division (in alignment with the system QPS strategy), review and finalize key quality and outcome metrics, prioritize and participate in clinical practice guidelines/process improvement efforts/RCAs, monitor quality, and lead continuous quality improvement and learning.
• Patient Experience: Lead patient experience efforts for Division, monitor performance data and drive improvement in alignment with the system patient experience strategy prioritization, and routinely assess the needs for the respective Division.
• Practice Management: Lead comprehensive practice management including: managing call/coverage schedules, staffing plans, developing budgets, overseeing physician productivity/clinical FTE assignment, providing feedback on physician compensation, and overseeing coding/documentation.

Academic Role:

• Research: Develop the direction and goals of the Division’s research program in collaboration with the Chief Research Officer and relevant research center director(s) to align with the Department of Pediatrics research strategy, guardrails, and priorities; manage and oversee Division’s research portfolio, including funding, sustainability of research, and staff; ensure responsible and compliant research.

• Teaching: Create, support, facilitate, and implement the educational programs of the Division, including medical student, resident, and fellow training; and for graduate and postdoctoral training as relevant, to satisfy or exceed national and  accreditation standards; communicate key departmental, university, medical group, and hospital information to executive leadership and appropriately assign faculty to carry out the educational programs; evaluates the performance of faculty, students, and graduates ensuring that goals and professional standards are met or exceeded; serve as a mentor or facilitates mentoring opportunities for Division faculty members

• Faculty Affairs: Responsible for overseeing faculty development and promotions within the specialty.

Business Management & Administration:

• Finance: Accountability for Division financial performance, demonstrate stewardship of resources, accountable for the case for support to achieve fundraising targets, partner with administrative dyads at Children’s and Department of Pediatrics to drive optimum financial performance and viability.
• Fundraising: Partners with Children’s Foundation in fundraising efforts. Participates in meetings with key donors and on donor calls.

Candidate Qualifications
The candidate will have the following credentials:

 

Education and Certification Summary

• Graduate of an accredited, four-year medical school
• Graduate of an accredited, post-graduate residency program
• Board certified in gastroenterology and current, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the state of Georgia
• Current DEA registration
• Meets eligibility requirements for credentialing as part of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta medical staff
•  

Experience and Skills

• In addition to clinical experience, 5-10 years administrative or leadership experience as a Division Director, Associate or Medical Director role in a pediatric hospital or health care setting
• Experience building and maintaining partnerships between clinical and non-clinical stakeholders
• Experience building a successful Division, inclusive of all missions (clinical, research, and teaching)
• Experience in acquiring philanthropic and governmental program support is a plus
  

Children’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (GHN)

The Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition leader will have the opportunity to drive a vision and to shape the growth of a clinical program across two hospitals and the opening of the new state-of-the-art Arthur M. Blank Hospital. The hospital, anticipated to open in 2025, will have 446 beds and will be a full-service facility for pediatric inpatient medical care, providing a once in a career opportunity for this leader to transition to a new facility.

 

The Division of GHN is actively engaged in a wide variety of clinical/research programs including: aerodigestive, eosinophilic GI diseases, IBD, intestinal rehabilitation, weight/wellness, feeding, autism, fatty liver disease, cholestatic and genetic liver diseases, biliary atresia, endoscopy/advanced endoscopy, pancreatic disorders, and liver transplant. The division is ranked at #9 nationally according to US News and World Report.

 

The Division includes 18 clinical faculty, 2 Clinical Psychologists, and 5 research PhDs. Program strengths include hepatology and IBD and members are engaged in national consortiums including the following: ICN, ChiLDReN, PUSH, NASH CRN, SPLIT, RISK, PROTECT, CAPTURE and multiple industry-supported trials. The division performs 900+ endoscopies, 100+ ERCP’s, 13K+ outpatient visits and 6K+ inpatient encounters at the Egleston campus.

 

Research linked to the Division reside within 2 Centers: the Center for Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, & Nutrition Innovation (GENI)  and the Children’s Center for Immunity and Applied Genomics (CIAG)

 

The Division is proud of an exceptional training program including an NIDDK-supported T32 Training Program, and a transplant hepatology fellow.  Our Fellowship Training Program recently increased to 3 fellows per year and provides exceptional clinical and research opportunities.

 

For more information on Children’s please visit www.choa.org.

Procedure for Candidacy

Qualified candidates should complete the online application and upload a CV. Inquiries should be sent to Megan Smith, Department of Pediatrics, at Megan.Smith2@emory.edu .

 

Additional Information

The Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute is an affiliation between Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that is improving the lives of children in Georgia and beyond. The Pediatric Institute combines the unique strengths and resources of each institution in support of our three-part academic missions of providing outstanding clinical care, conducting innovative basic science discovery and clinical research, and coordinating exceptional education of the future healthcare workforce. Our physicians, researchers, and educators have created a model where leadership, commitment and quality are fundamental components of success. Together, we are transforming pediatrics by achieving new levels of clinical excellence—driven by research, teaching and wellness. We look forward to our future together.

 

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