Palliative Care and Hospice Physician

Overview

We have a very clear mission at Legacy: to make life better for our patients, our community and each other. We show it every day, in everything we do. If your skill and compassion as a palliative and hospice care physician reflect that mission, you belong at Legacy, making a difference for patients being a comfort care/end-of-life resource for Legacy

IMPORTANT: Though this job posting references both palliative care and hospice, this position only has a role and responsibilities with the Legacy Hospice program and department.

Responsibilities

The Palliative Care and Hospice Physician assists the Medical Director of Palliative and Hospice Care by providing advanced care planning, symptom management, comfort care, and end-of-life resources to Legacy Health and its’ community through teaching activities, clinical support, and administrative duties.  The Hospice Physician supports the Medical Director by providing palliative and hospice care consultations, education for physicians and staff, administration of projects, and by contributing to the development of clinical policies.  The Palliative Care and Hospice Physician may, on occasion, be temporarily designated to assume the same responsibilities and obligations as the Medical Director of Palliative and Hospice Care when such Medical Director is not available.

• Patient Care

Provides ongoing care to patients on the inpatient Palliative Medicine Service and/or who are enrolled in the Legacy Visiting Nurse Association (LVNA) Hospice Program

• Supervision

Provides oversight, support, and consultation to providers, including primary care and other treating providers for patients referred to Palliative Care and/or who are enrolled in the LVNA Hospice program.

•  Policy/Procedure Development

Assists with policy/procedure development and revisions related to end-of-life, symptom management, and comfort care issues.

• Teaching

Participates in the development of palliative care and end-of-life educational materials and presentations for staff, referral sources, and members of the community.

Provides leadership in physician, nurse, medical student, and medical resident and fellow education on palliative medicine and end-of-life topics.

Assists with staff and community education on palliative and end-of-life topics.

• Department/Program Administration

Participates in the oversight of medical aspects of palliative clinical services, education, pain and symptom management, facilities planning, and research and measurement.

Hospice: Available on-call as assigned by program leadership to assist in providing 24/7 patient care coverage.

Certifies patient’s eligibility for hospice. Reviews care plan of all hospice patients in collaboration with the patient’s primary physician to determine continued eligibility for hospice care as part of the re-certification process.

See Appendix A for additional information specific to the Hospice program.

• Physician member of the Hospice Interdisciplinary group

Attends IDG team meetings and participates in the development of patient care plans and reassessment of the patient/family care plan, offering direction to staff by suggesting appropriate interventions.

Acts as a resource to the Hospice staff, primary provider, and consulting provider in decisions regarding palliative treatments that the Hospice Program will include as part of the plan of care.

Acts as a resource for the Hospice staff regarding medical decision-making.

Participates in the Hospice Quality Assurance Program with other members of IDG.

As a member designated of IDG, assists in establishing and reviewing policies governing day-to-day provision of Hospice care and services.

Assists with team problem-solving/decision-making.

• Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

Engages in CQI for Program projects and services, providing physician leadership on medical issues related to symptom management, palliative care, and end-of-life.

• Committee Participation

Participates in committees as directed by the Palliative Care and Hospice Medical Director or Assistant Medical Director.

Reports to Medical Staff Quality and Credentialing.

• Community Outreach and Collaboration

Provides leadership in making the community aware of the Palliative Care and/or Hospice Program and its services, making those services accessible and appropriate for those who need them.

Works in concert with the patient’s other treating providers.

Provides direct medical care to hospice patients upon the request of the primary or referring provider.

Recommends and/or prescribes medical/nursing and other interventions, to maintain optimal symptom control and treats side effects of the disease or treatment in collaboration with the patient’s other treating providers.

Available on-call on a 24-hour basis as assigned by leadership.

Assists as needed in arranging for qualified providers to be available on-call to meet the medical needs of hospice patients that are not provided by the patient’s attending physician.

Provides emotional support for both patient and family.

Makes home visits when necessary.

Acts as consult/resource to primary physician regarding hospice care issues.

Qualifications

Education:

Graduate of four-year U.S. Medical School or equivalent.

Completion of a residency in an accredited residency program.

Experience:

• Prefer four or more years of experience including experience in leadership of consultations, policy development, adult medical education.
• Fellowship in Palliative Care or two or more years of experience managing care for patients with serious life-limiting illness, including establishing goals of care and managing symptoms along the continuum from diagnosis to end-of-life.

Skills:

• Excellent communication skills with staff, patients and families, and colleagues.
• Excellent documentation and organization (multi-tasking) skills.
• Aptitude for strategic planning and program development.
• Ability to communicate compassion and empathy.
• Ability to motivate others to meet challenges and succeed.
• Ability to act as a role model for well-being/self-care practices.
• Ability to work well with multidisciplinary team under pressure.
• Working knowledge of clinical ethics as it relates to end-of-life care.

Licensure

• Board eligibility required; prefer primary board certification in any specialty and/or certification in palliative medicine, hospice, or geriatrics.
• Current BLS from the American Heart Association.

Our Commitment to Health and Equal Opportunity

Our Legacy is good for health for Our People, Our Patients, Our Communities, Our World. Above all, we will do the right thing.

If you are passionate about our mission and believe you can contribute to our team, we encourage you to apply—even if you don't meet every qualification listed. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can grow and succeed.

Legacy Health is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion or creed, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

To learn more about our employee benefits click here: www.legacyhealth.org/For-Health-Professionals/careers/benefiting-you