Chief of Surgery and Program Medical Director Recruitment

Among NYGH’s 839 physicians, the Surgery Program’s physicians are in charge of a large, diverse program, providing care across the following surgical specialties: General surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck, Paediatric Dentistry, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,  Urology and Orthopaedic Surgery. In addition, key hospital outpatient areas served by the physicians include the Baruch Weisz Outpatient Care Clinic, Pre-op Assessment Clinic, Total Joint Assessment Centre (TJAC), Gulshan & Pyarali G. Nanji Orthopaedic and Plastics Centre (OPC), Eye Surgery Center, BMO Breast Diagnostic Clinic (BDC), Gale and Graham Wright Prostate Centre, as well as the Endoscopy Unit.  North York General has one of the largest cancer care programs in a community academic hospital in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), and provides treatment for many types of cancers, including breast, colon, prostate, eyes, gynecological and urological.

The position is comprised of Chief of the Department of Surgery and Program Co-Medical Director. The Chief would work closely with the Administrative Director of Surgery, Chief of Anaesthesia (co-Medical Director), Director of Ambulatory & Cancer Care, and leads for the various Divisions of Surgery. This position reports jointly to the Vice President, Clinical Programs, Quality, Long Term Care & Chief Nursing Executive and to the Vice President, Medical and Academic Affairs, and to the Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).

Recognizing the complex nature of the program, its interface with almost every area of the hospital and its size and need for ongoing development and evolution, the Search Committee would be open to ideas around structure, leadership partnerships and other ways of making the position attractive to those who might otherwise consider it too comprehensive.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a core part of the culture at NYGH. In keeping with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework, we encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds.

The Chief works in partnership with:

• Board of Governors
• Medical Advisory Committee
• Senior Leadership Team
• Program Directors
• Clinical Team Managers
• Other Departmental Chiefs and Medical Directors
• Physicians, Staff and Volunteers
• Patient Experience Partners
• Learners
• Hospital Foundation
• Other external partners and stakeholders:
  • Ministry of Health and Ontario Health
  • Chair of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
  • Partner Hospitals
  • Professional Associations
  • Education and Training Institutions
  • Other community partners

Key Leadership requirements for the new Chief/Program Co-Medical Director:

• Advance the Program’s vision by ensuring alignment with NYGH’s strategic mandate and continue to build on the Department’s clinical and academic strengths.
• Identify, develop and implement key program initiatives that can enhance the Department’s organizational impact and profile, while maximizing quality outcome and best practices across the continuum of the patient journey.
• Enhance and continue to build excellent relationships with academic partners and collaborators.
• Continue to enhance a culture of collegiality and collaboration by partnering with internal and external clinicians, teams, stakeholders and leaders to ensure optimal team performance and the provision of the highest quality and safest care to patients and families.
• Lead the Surgery Program’s involvement in the Patient Tower and our new Long Term Care Building.  Take advantage of these expansions to innovate in our clinical, teaching and research roles.
• Continue to champion work with Primary Care and our OHT
• Service Recovery post-pandemic

Program Co-Medical Director:

Various components include:

Clinical Care

• Oversee the quality of care provided by the clinicians in the Department.
• Participate as an active staff member in the Department of Surgery, including a clinical case load and on-call services as part of the regular rotation/schedule.
• Ensure the implementation of best practices and maintain the oversight of skills required by staff to ensure optimal outcomes for patients and families.

Administrative / Oversight

• Review the credentials and recommend privileges for Departmental members.
• Manage physician scheduling.
• Ensure compliance with by-laws, policies, objectives and rules.
• Effectively manage any performance or professionalism issues that may arise among the credentialed medical staff.
• Work with the Program director and Co-Medical director for program planning and development, budgets and capital equipment.
• Represent the Department on the Medical Advisory Committee and the Program Leadership Committees.
• Oversee the clinical and non-clinical practices of the non-physician professional staff in the Surgical Program and give input to the appropriate oversight leaders.

Education & Academic Development

• Coordinate the academic program and establish a process for continuing medical education within the Department.
• Ensure staff participation in hospital initiatives such as professional development, physician engagement, and other projects and programs.
• Be actively involved in the University Department and encourage and support academic promotion and advancement of members of the Department.
• Encourage and support teaching, education and research initiatives in keeping with NYGH’s strategic plan.

Health Human Resources

• Recruit physicians as appropriate.
• Conduct regular performance reviews of the members of the Department with regard to their activities, goals and advancement.
• Provide career development coaching for the members of the Department.

Leadership & Community Engagement

• Understand the needs of the North Toronto community and support programs to create health equitably across the community.
• Foster collegial and constructive relationships with other leaders at NYGH and in the broader health care system.
• Facilitate effective communication within the Program and with other programs and services in the hospital, other Chiefs, the foundation, external stakeholders, and with the broader healthcare system.
• Foster a culture of safety, teamwork and learning at NYGH.

Experience/Competencies

• Possess a high level of professional competency as a surgeon physician with both clinical and leadership experience.
• Champion service excellence and patient safety.
• Have excellent analytical skills.
• Have the ability to adapt to continually changing priorities.
• Be aware of program planning and evaluation.
• Demonstrate the ability to achieve goals and objectives within specified time frames.

Required attributes of the candidate fall into the following categories:

Management

• Demonstrate ability to balance patient & provider priorities.
• Be highly strategic in setting objectives and goals in the context of and contribution to the strategic plan for the organization.
• Understand the broader issues in health care systems and incorporate and adjust for relevant issues.
• Demonstrate ability to manage complexity and associated logistics.
• Be committed to strong Nurse –Health care team–Physician collaboration.
• Support interdivisional collaboration with regular meetings with the Heads of Divisions.
• Demonstrate the values of fiscal responsibility.

Medical

• As an outstanding role model for a practicing Physician, have strong clinical expertise and clinical leadership skills, including the ability to recruit physicians.
• Have the ability to:
  • Mentor clinicians and future medical leaders.
  • Commit to Physician Wellness as a high priority.
  • Demonstrate expertise in quality and safety improvement.
  • Dedicate the Department to the academic mission in teaching and research.
  • Embrace new innovative approaches to care.

Communication & Leadership

• Visionary, visible and forward thinking leader with the goals of developing a unified Departmental vision and strategy that fosters intra-divisional collaboration and teamwork.
• Strong communicator with passion, commitment, transparency, positivity and competency.
• Leader that enables Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Leader with courage and integrity to navigate difficult conversations.
• Leader that embraces complexity.

Education/Professional Credentials

The new Chief/Program Medical Co-Director will be an experienced, inclusive and visionary leader with experience in medical leadership, clinical practice, strategy and operations. Recognized as an effective change leader, you have demonstrated your commitment to improving service and operations in a clinical setting as well as participating in broader systems-level change. 

• Licensed by the College of Physicians Surgeons of Ontario, or eligible for licensure.
• Certification in a surgical specialty, or its equivalent.
• Eligible for, or already have an academic appointment at the University of Toronto.

North York General Hospital (NYGH) is a community academic hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. In 2022, NYGH was named #1 community academic hospital in Canada by Newsweek Magazine for the fourth year in a row and named one of Canada’s Best Employers by Forbes Magazine. NYGH was most recently recognized as one of the World’s Best Smart Hospitals for adopting advanced technologies for patient care. Through partnerships, collaboration and academic endeavours, NYGH fulfills its purpose of Making a World of Difference. With a strong financial track record over the last 10+ years, NYGH continues to advance excellence in care while ensuring fiscal accountability and efficiency. NYGH serves a local population of approximately half a million people in North Central Toronto. The 2021-22 services included:

• 107,070 Emergency visits
• 27,050 inpatient visits
• 446 acute care beds
• 4,663 live births
• 192 long-term care beds
• 29,744 surgical procedures including endoscopy
• 331,711 outpatient and virtual care visits

In 2021-22, we had 4010 staff, 839 physicians, 251 volunteers, and 40 patient experience partners. North Central Toronto is one of the city’s most diverse and rapidly growing areas. Our catchment area is comprised of a growing seniors population, with more than 50% of people being immigrants to Canada. Additionally, 53% of our catchment population identify as visible minorities and 20% are considered low-income.

North York General’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, Thinking Beyond NYGH is guided by a transformational five-year Strategic Plan, Thinking Beyond. This Plan will place NYGH at the forefront of quality, equity and safety, enabling exciting new partnerships to drive improvements in population and community health. Integrated care is central to our Plan, with an ambitious Clinical Services Plan, Digital Health agenda, and NYGH’s leadership in North York Toronto Health Partners, one of the province’s first and largest Ontario Health Teams (OHTs). The Plan enables NYGH to shape the health system of tomorrow through a commitment to exceptional learning and world-class, applied health research. Over the next five to 10 years, we will embark on the most significant expansion and modernization in the organization’s 50 plus history. Here are our four Strategic Directions:

People come first in everything we do. At NYGH, we view people in the broadest sense – patients, families, caregivers, community members, physicians, staff, learners and 6 volunteers. We are proud to have a comprehensive framework for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to guide our actions. Our Wellness framework, based on international best practices, cultivates the health and wellbeing of our team. We seek empowerment for all in an environment of discovery and development.

Driving the future of integrated care. Partnerships and collaboration are vital to our work and to our pursuit of continuous improvements for our people and patients. We are part of the Toronto Region, and our broad partners include North York Toronto Health Partners, our local Ontario Health Team; Ontario Health; the Ministry of Health of Ontario; and City of Toronto. We partner with Sinai Health through the Schwartz/Weisman Emergency Medicine Institute, a not-for-profit research, education and health policy institute. We have expanded our digital platforms and virtual care to help achieve health and wellness throughout our communities.

Being an exceptional learning community. With a passion for learning and teaching, we provided clinical placements for 1349 learners in 2021-22. We have five on-site Research Chairs guiding us to leverage data and analytics and carry out applied community health research on a provincial, national, and international scale. The University of Toronto is a significant partner in our scholarly endeavours.

Investing in a better tomorrow. We are undergoing the largest expansion in our history, with a new, advanced inpatient care tower and a new long-term care home and integrated seniors’ campus of care, across the road from the hospital. These are being designed with the guidance of our Patient Experience Partners and our Environmental Sustainability Committee.

For more information about NYGH, please visit our website at: https://www.nygh.on.ca