Department Chair

The role of the Department of Family and Community Medicine is multifaceted and carries significant responsibilities. The Department Chair is responsible for providing the overall vision for the department, clinical, academic, research and innovation, and administrative leadership to the faculty, staff, students, and residents. The Chair will work collaboratively with Hospital and Medical School leaders to develop and execute the department’s strategy to advance our clinical and academic missions. Responsibilities include clinician recruitment, education, supervision, strategic development, quality and process improvement initiatives.

The Chair should be board-certified academic family physician and a leader in family medicine education, clinical practice, research, and community service. The Chair will work effectively and collegially work with colleagues to advance the mission of the department in both rural and urban areas. As an innovator, the Chair will identify and develop new clinical programs consistent with national best practices and care models, patient and community need and financial feasibility. The Chair will ensure continued strong relationships with the community and work collaboratively with community-based organizations (CBO), local government and other entities, on program development. As an educator and mentor, the Chair will support faculty career development and scholarship and create a culture and learning environment that supports the education programs. In addition, the Chair will work with the Program Director to help the residency training program to set and achieve near- and long- term goals and the Clerkship Program Director to advance medical education in the department of Family and Community Medicine.

Essential Functions:

Clinical Leadership

• Collaborate with hospital and medical group leaders to develop and execute the department’s strategy.
• Advance clinical services, ensuring high-quality patient care.
• Recruit and supervise clinicians.
• Implement quality improvement initiatives.
• Promoting the mission of the MMG Physicians Group through effective management of departmental clinical operations by assuring the quality, availability, and appropriateness of clinical services provided by Department faculty in concert with the missions and goals of MMG in collaboration with the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean School of Medicine, Executive Director of MMG and Associate Dean of Business and Finance, School of Medicine, supporting affiliated institutions and maintaining a valid Tennessee Medical license.
• The Chair is ultimately responsible for reviewing credentialing of all faculty within their clinical department.
• Establish a clinical practice in his/her specialty or sub-specialty.

Academic Leadership

• Foster an environment conducive to teaching, research, and education.
• Engage with medical students, residents, and fellows.
• Enhance the department’s educational programs.
• Supporting the developmental and professional needs of medical and graduate students, residents, fellows, other health professionals, staff, faculty and community physicians.
• The skill required to critically evaluate published articles is acquired. The journal club forum allows students and faculty to present current literature articles for a dual purpose. First, it brings interesting and important articles to the attention of the students and faculty and it allows an in-depth discussion on the data presented so that positive issues, new techniques, as well as less than optimal data can be brought to light. For the students and research fellows, this sets the foundation to perform this essential task throughout their career

Research And Innovation

• Oversee both clinical and laboratory-based research programs.
• Encourage faculty involvement in research.
• Demonstrating innovation and scholarship, significant experience in the practice and management of clinical medicine, a record of extramurally funded basic, translational or clinical research and demonstrated ability to balance education, research and clinical care.
• A department is judged by its research portfolio. The faculty look to the Chair to set the example on maintaining a funded research program. This leadership should include setting a positive example of the proper and ethical conduct of research, compassionate regard for research personnel and mentoring graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. The Chair must teach good fiscal and research practices (both in laboratory and clinical settings) by example, mentorship and actions.

Administration

• Encouraging and supporting diversity among a Department’s constituents, creating an environment of professionalism, respect, tolerance, and acceptance.
• Supporting and accountable for the accomplishment by the department of excellence in the missions of education, training, research, and clinical care, with encouragement and emphasis of interdisciplinary activities for the School of Medicine within MMG.
• Managing Department staff, finances and resources effectively and efficiently, in accord with school and School policies
• Understanding the evolving worlds of healthcare, education and research and to develop measures to evaluate the outcomes of related Departmental activities.
• The Chair serves as an advisor to the Dean of the School of Medicine and as a member of the Executive Council of the School of Medicine and meets at least once a year with the Dean to review progress and plans for the future. A major review occurs periodically. This includes a Departmental self-review, an internal review by faculty from other departments, and an external review by chairs or eminent scholars from other institutions.
• The Chair is responsible for the efficient scheduling of the faculty's clinical, administrative and academic duties. The Chair, working with other administrative faculty members and staff, should publish clinical schedules for the use of their faculty members and clinical schedulers. The clinical schedule of each faculty member should reflect the faculty member's assignment of duties as defined in their yearly contracts. To meet the Department's scheduling needs, the Chair should also be aware of room usage and facility resources.
• The Chair will, at all times, be aware of the clinical and academic practices of Departmental faculty. These practices must reflect a code of ethics that is acceptable to both national medical societies and MMG. It is the responsibility of the Chair to guarantee that all faculty are associated with acceptable, ethical medical practices. If the Chair becomes aware of any unacceptable medical practices, he/she must immediately meet with the offending faculty member for an explanation. The Chair must keep MMC Legal Services, Medical Staff Affairs and the SOM Dean's Office aware of.

Mentorship

• Assuring equitable salary and academic work conditions for Department faculty and facilitating their continuing professional development.
• It is the responsibility of the Chair to foster this program by providing fiscal resources and leadership to a program that regularly hosts external scientists to the department.

Finance

• The financial success of the Department is dependent upon correct, clear and timely documentation of each clinical encounter.
• The Chair, working with his/her billing Department, should continuously monitor the medical documentation of the clinical faculty to ensure that appropriate billing practices are followed. Whenever, the Chair or Departmental Billing becomes aware of incorrect documentation or an unacceptable billing decision, the Chair must take immediate action to rectify the problem. This may include meeting individually with the medical provider, sending clarification emails or having a billing/documentation presentation during a faculty meeting.
• A Chair should assist faculty in identifying start-up funds for faculty, residents and students.
• This process should also promote accountability where the outcome of start-up funded research is reported in forums such as a poster session or peer-review publication.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities:

• Strategic and critical thinker
• Visionary and Innovative
• Integrity and accountability
• Decisive and results-oriented
• Credibility and presence
• Must possess good oral and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to cultivate strong relationships with various stakeholders and create an environment that fosters collaboration and trust
• Exceptional presentation skills and a high degree of poise when interacting with internal and external senior leaders
• Expertise in the latest evidence-based clinical guidelines and technological advances. Genuine enthusiasm for working in an environment of constant change and growth. Desire to train the next generation of physicians
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to establish credibility quickly, build rapport, and easily interact with clinical and administrative leadership, as well as physicians and staff.

Education And Experience:

·Minimum Qualifications For The Position Are An M.D. Or D.O Degree Required

·Board Certification In Specialty And/Or Sub-Specialty

• Eligible for an Academic Appointment as Associate or Full Professor with Tenure preferred
• Relevant administrative experience
• Medical License to practice in the State of Tennessee
• DEA
• Must have completed an ACGME approved Residency program in Family Medicine with Board Certification
• Minimum of ten (10) years of clinical practice in psychiatric medicine and previous leadership experience in academic medicine having served as a Residency Program Director, Clerkship Director, or Vice Chair.
• Experience in a leadership role in a Hospital department, preferably in a major medical center or health system, required
• Understanding of emergency, inpatient, and outpatient services for people of all ages suffering from a variety of psychiatric & addictive disorders
• Involvement with expanding access for behavioral health treatment and wellness services to the region
• Continue to build and develop strong educational and training programs in Family Medicine and its related disciplines while expanding knowledge in the behavioral health sciences through clinical research

Environmental Conditions and Physical Demands

• Usual office environment.
• Manual dexterity
• Visual and auditory acuity
• Able to sit, stand or walk for extended periods of time