Division Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine

The Department of Pediatrics at the Dell Medical School (DMS) at The University of Texas at Austin, along with its clinical partner, Dell Children's Medical Center, a part of the Ascension Seton Healthcare Family, is seeking a Division Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine. In partnership with clinical, educational and research leaders in the Department of Pediatrics and at Dell Children's Medical Center, the Division Chief will develop and foster a vision for the Division for the years to come, with a strong focus on providing leadership and direction to the Division's fellow, resident, and medical student education. The Division Chief is charged with building statewide and national relationships for our Department and for our partners at Dell Children's Medical Center.

DMS, the first new medical school to be built at a tier one research university in nearly 50 years, welcomed its inaugural class in 2016. The school is committed to redesigning academic medicine and revolutionizing how people get and stay healthy, by educating leaders, developing new models of care, advancing innovation from health products to health care delivery, and partnering closely with community and regional stakeholders to serve the community's entire population. The Ascension Healthcare Network (the nation's largest non-profit health system) and DMS share a common vision of transforming healthcare through a focus on quality and value.

Pediatric training for residents and medical students has been present here in Austin for over 40 years, starting in 1973 with the first pediatric residency, and in February 1988 with the opening of the Children's Hospital of Austin (CHOA) within the adult teaching hospital, Brackenridge. In June 2007, the pediatric teaching sites transitioned over to Dell Children's Medical Center.

Dell Children's Medical Center (DCMC) is a 248-bed, free standing, Pediatric Level I Trauma Center; one of only five in all of Texas opened in June 2007. It is one of an elite group of children's hospitals that offer the highest level of care available to children who have been victims of trauma. DCMC has a Level IV Epilepsy Center, Level IV NICU, Special Delivery Unit, Texas Center for Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease, and Inpatient Psychiatry Mental Health Unit. The DCMC network encompasses the most pediatric specialists and specialty programs in our region, serving a 46-county area as the premier comprehensive health care provider for children and adolescents. This not-for-profit organization leads health care delivery to a rapidly growing population of 1.9 million and is expanding with construction of a 4th medical tower and entire North Austin campus projected to open in November 2022,

Austin, the capital of Texas and 11th most populous city in the United States, is universally recognized as a vibrant, entrepreneurial, and dynamic city. Its live music scene, international festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW), film and food scene, have made it among the fastest growing large cities in the nation. This metropolis is a high-tech growth hub and home to one of the largest state universities in the country. It is also known as one of the healthiest/physically fit cities in America. The many parks and lakes offer a multitude of outdoor activities, including swimming, hiking, paddle boarding and fishing.

Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Create a positive environment for the division
• Establish an environment that encourages communication at all levels within the division
• Establish a system for ensuring that information is transmitted in a timely manner to all faculty and staff
• Understand the local and national forces shaping healthcare in the US and how these forces may influence the future of the discipline
• Develop programs that connect the division's faculty and fellows to community health-related services, including school-based clinics, mobile health clinics, and medical homes

Academic:

• Recruit new faculty and staff to fulfill the division's mission and responsibilities
• Develop a strategy to retain and develop the academic skills of existing faculty
• Develop an individual faculty development plan for each faculty member of the division that outlines goals and expectations (clinical, research, educational)
• Conduct an annual performance review with each division faculty member, including written feedback regarding expectations/goals from the individual faculty development plan
• Develop a similar process for all trainees in the division consistent with ACGME training requirements
• Understand the specifics and subtleties of the promotion process of the institution to be able to counsel junior faculty through the intricacies of promotion
• Identify appropriate mentors for junior faculty in the areas of research, education, and clinical function of the division/department
• Monitor the academic progress of divisional faculty and fellows

Financial

• Develop a "zero-deficit" or "surplus" divisional budget approved by the department chair.
• Monitor the financial status of the division on an ongoing basis and develop corrective action plans to address deficit situations.
• Evaluate and establish clinical productivity standards for all clinical faculty and staff in the division.
• Compare division and faculty productivity to appropriate benchmarks and formulate plans to maximize clinical productivity as appropriate.
• Ensure divisional faculty compliance with clinical practice billing and documentation rules and regulations.

Administration

• Submit to the chair an annual report on the division. This report should summarize the division activities in the area of research, education, and patient care, as well as notable awards and accomplishments of divisional faculty and staff.
• Conduct regular meetings with all division personnel (clinical and administrative).
• Conduct regular division meetings on a schedule that maximizes attendance.
• Participate in healthcare system, hospital, medical school, or department committees as requested or appropriate.
• Lead and participate in quality assurance and performance improvement activities for the division, department, and hospital.

Clinical

• Oversee the delivery of clinical care provided throughout the division and ensure that the quality of care delivered meets accepted standards.
• Collaborate with the Chairman of Pediatrics and the other Division Heads and Department leaders on the design, development, implementation and assessment of value-based clinical care
• Ensure that patient access is maximized for the division.
• Ensure the maintenance of schedules.
• Ensure that the divisional faculty and staff maintain working relationships and contact with referring physicians.
• Ensure compliance with appropriate medical record documentation and timely charges for clinical services by all faculty.
• Ensure compliance with all internal policies and procedures promulgated by the university, department, hospital, and external regulatory agencies.

Educational

• Coordinate at least one annual Grand Rounds for the division.
• Participate when requested by the chief residents in departmental teaching conferences for residents and medical students.
• Ensure that division faculty are similarly responsive to these requests.
• Regularly attend weekly grand rounds and departmental conferences
• Participate in resident and medical student education and ensure divisional faculty participation and compliance with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Liaison Committee on Medical Education training requirements, to ensure successful program continuation.

Research

• Develop a creative divisional research plan integrating clinical, translational, basic science, and health services research opportunities.
• Recruit faculty whose talents and research interests are consistent with the overall divisional/departmental research program.
• Encourage cross-divisional and departmental research and training collaborations
• Maximize utilization of divisional research space and resources.
• Monitor progress of divisional investigators.
• Develop a plan to deal with gaps in research funding for investigators, as well as a plan for shortfalls in research funding for funded investigators.

Departmental responsibilities

• Regularly attend departmental divisional director and faculty meetings.
• Communicate appropriate information from the department, medical school, and hospital to division personnel in a timely and regular manner.
• Actively participate in departmental fundraising activities.
• Advocate for staff and patients of the division.
• Address complaints regarding the division with the department chair.
• Other duties as may be required for the division or department and assigned by the chair or dean.

• The successful candidate will demonstrate sustained excellence or the potential for sustained excellence in research productivity, clinical care, and/or mentorship/ teaching of trainees and junior faculty.
• M.D., or equivalent, or M.D./Ph.D., with board certification in Pediatric Hospital Medicine.
• Eligible for faculty appointment with The University of Texas Dell Medical School as an Associate or full Professor
• Eligible for appointment to the medical staff at UT Health Austin and Dell Children's Medical Center
• Demonstrable experience in collaborative relationships with strong education partners, and especially in engaging those educators nationally
• Demonstrable experience in collaborative problem-solving with academic colleagues in clinical and educational spheres

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.