Clinical Hospitalist | Department of Internal Medicine SOM - (M59991)

Mission or Goal of Unit: To be leaders in the inpatient care of patients at VCU Health System and the training of learners in Internal Medicine through:

• High-quality, evidence-based, efficient, and patient-centered patient care
• Thorough and responsive medicine consultation and co-management of non-medicine patients
• Exemplary teaching and mentoring of Internal Medicine Housestaff, medical students, and other learners
• Scholarship inspired by the challenges of inpatient care that seeks to overcome these challenges
• The pursuit of excellence of clinicians, educators, scholars, and leaders

Chief Purpose of this position: The Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine seeks candidates to admit, provide daily care for, and discharge patients on the General Medicine inpatient services including teams with advanced practice providers and teams with housestaff and students. The Division provides clinical care at:

• VCU Medical Center, a large, tertiary academic health center in downtown Richmond, Virginia
• VCU Tappahannock, a small, rural hospital in Tappahannock, Virginia
• VCU Hospital at Home, a home-based inpatient service with patients throughout the central Virginia region

While specific position responsibilities vary based on service needs, all division members seek to improve the quality and efficiency of inpatient care at VCUHS. Some members provide high-quality General Medicine consults and co-management services to other non-medicine specialties, perform and teach about bedside procedures, care for patients in the Hospital at Home model or at VCU Tappahannock, or work with housestaff and medical students in supervision of the GME nocturnist service. All division members are supported to grow expertise in education, research, quality improvement, informatics, and health system leadership in order to advance inpatient care and support the overarching missions of the institution.

Position Responsibilities:

1. Teaching - Faculty have opportunities to work with learners through attending on:

• Inpatient Teaching Service with learners including medical students, interns and residents
• Medicine Consult Service which includes medical students and residents from both internal medicine and other services
• Bedside Procedure Service which includes internal medicine residents; and/or
• GME Nocturnist Service which includes internal medicine housestaff
  
  

Specific teaching responsibilities are identified annually and generally constitute 25-33% of clinical shifts. Faculty are expected to learn about and apply contemporary adult learning methods to promote evidence-based practice and demonstrate effective teaching skills and continually develop as a teacher for learners at all levels. In addition, faculty may participate in other learning activities such as Foundations of Clinical Medicine, morning report, noon conference, and other formal educational programs for undergraduate and post-graduate learners.

2. Research - Faculty have opportunities to participate in clinical and administrative research, according to skills, interest, and funding. Research opportunities may include performance improvement initiatives or formal extramurally funded investigations. Participation may be as principal investigator or co-investigator. In order to advance in rank, faculty are expected to develop an area of expertise and achieve recognition of this expertise.

3. Service - Faculty are expected to work with institutional staff and administration to attain the strategic objectives of VCU Health System, including patient safety, patient satisfaction, maintenance and enhancement of public perception, and fiscal health. Faculty have numerous opportunities to engage in committee work and lead health system efforts to enhance quality.

4. Clinical - Faculty primarily admit, manage, and discharge patients on the hospitalist-led inpatient services, co-manage patients on other services, attend on the General Medicine consult service, triage medicine patients requiring admission in the Emergency Department, and coordinate patient transfers from the Intensive Care units, non-medical services and non-VCU hospitals. Faculty assure service coverage 24-hours a day, every day of the year in collaboration with the advanced practice providers on the hospitalist service. Faculty should comply in a timely manner with all institutional policies for professional work including credentialing, documentation, billing and work effectively with other members of the extended interprofessional team.

Required Qualifications:

• Board certification or eligibility in Internal Medicine
• Direct experience managing complex inpatients
• A solid understanding of the hospitalist role and function
• An interest in academic work including teaching, professional development, and quality improvement
• Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team and effectively communicate in both verbal and written formats
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated achievement as an educator, scholar, clinician, and/or leader
• Experience working with advanced practice providers to support optimal care.