Hospice Physician

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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.

The 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 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 who are enrolled in the Legacy Visiting Nurse Association (LVNA) Hospice Program

Supervision

• Provides clinical oversight, support, and consultation to community-based hospice attending providers, referring providers, and other treating providers for patients referred to and/or who are enrolled in the LVNA Hospice program.

 Policy/Procedure Development

• Assists with policy/procedure development, review, 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 hospice services, education, pain and symptom management, facilities planning, and research and measurement.
• Available on-call as assigned by program leaders to assure 24/7 provider coverage. 
• Certifies patient’s initial eligibility for hospice in collaboration with the patient’s primary care or referring provider and reviews care plans of LVNA Hospice patients to determine continued eligibility for hospice care as part of the re-certification process. 

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 staff and consulting providers in decisions regarding palliative treatments that the Hospice Program will include in the plan of care. 
• Acts as a resource for the Hospice staff regarding medical decision-making. 
• Assists with team problem-solving/decision-making. 
• Provides direct medical care to hospice patients upon the request of the primary provider or as the patient’s hospice attending physician. 
• Completes home visits when necessary. 
• Acts as a consult/resource to primary provider/hospice attending provider regarding hospice care issues. 

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.
• 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 for those who need them.
• Works in concert with the patient’s other treating providers.
• Provides direct medical care to hospice patients upon request of primary or referring provider.
• Recommends and/or prescribes medical/nursing and other interventions, to maintain optimal symptom control and treat side effects of the disease or treatment in collaboration with the patient’s other treating providers.
• Acts as consult/resource to primary physician regarding hospice care issues.

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.

• 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 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

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