The Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital DECRH) a facility within the Horizon Health Network, is seeking Family Physician Hospitalists to expand our Hospitalist Program. Hospitalists are responsible for providing comprehensive inpatient care for assigned patients admitted to our institution or transferred from specialty services for appropriate family medicine care.

The full time position involves a schedule of 3 weeks each month, Part time positions are available and range from 1+ week per month. The schedule is evolving and negotiable. Physicians participate in overnight call while on duty and receive a mandated on-call stipend. There is fee-for-service billing for any call-backs to the hospital while on-call after regular working hours. Scheduling vacation/absences would be determined within the group which will have responsibility to maintain ongoing coverage.

The Chalmers Hospital is a level 2 Trauma Centre and regional referral hospital with 314 beds and a 9-bed closed intensive care unit, serving a catchment population of approximately 175,000. It is also a training site for the Dalhousie University Family Medicine Program. The Department of Family Medicine admits adult patients not requiring obstetrics, surgery, intensive care or acute psychiatric care. The scope of practice is broad including general medicine, neurology and geriatrics with consultant support.

Job Duties: – To provide comprehensive medical care of assigned hospitalized patients. The total number of patients under one hospitalist’s care is a max of 17 patients. – To optimize admission orders, treatment and investigative modalities and timely discharge planning. – To ensure effective and timely documentation and communication with the patient and the patient’s family/support system during the hospital stay. – To ensure efficient completion of dictated discharge summaries/documentation, i.e. special authorizations, etc., to facilitate continuity of care with other health care providers in the community. – To optimize efficient utilization of health care resources. – To organize daily rounds to optimize care of acutely ill patients and timely discharges. – To participate in a rotating call schedule. – To participate in the use of departmental and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to ensure that expected standards of care are achieved. – To participate in medical practice that is compatible with the Horizon Health Network’s mission, values and strategic directions. – To participate in hospital quality initiatives and committees. – To attend required departmental and hospital quality improvement meetings. – To participate, if requested by the Clinical Department Head/Program Lead, on some committee/administrative work for the department. – As a teaching site for Dalhousie University and Memorial University, the hospitalist team teaches family medicine residents and medical students, for which a faculty appointment can be arranged if qualified.