Chief, Department of Critical Care Medicine

Chief, Department of Critical Care Medicine

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Canada

The Department of Critical Care Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children is internationally recognized for its contributions to advancing clinical care, scholarship and education in pediatric critical care. We are inviting applications for Department Chief, Critical Care Medicine (a full-time position) with a negotiable start date in Spring/Summer 2021. The department comprises the Division of Pediatric Critical Care and the Division of Cardiac Critical Care, each with division Heads who report directly to the Department Chief.

The department is proud of its well-deserved international standing and recognition based on excellence in delivering high quality and safe critical care, leading innovative research and training the next generations of critical care physicians from across the world. It is expected that the successful Department Chief will continue, promote and have a vision for continuing to build upon these areas of excellence.

The intensive care unit currently has 42 beds with both Pediatric and Cardiac critical divisions being co-located in the same geographical area. The unit receives over 2200 admissions per year and provides all critical care services as expected for a quaternary academic department, including an experienced and well-structured extracorporeal life support program and all modes of mechanical ventilation. The department depends on the close collaboration and leadership from nursing staff, respiratory therapists and interprofessional staff. The Department Chief is expected to work closely with clinical leaders across the Department to ensure the highest quality and safest care within a culture of community, collegiality and transparency. Reporting to the Chief of Perioperative Services, the responsibilities of the Department Chief include providing leadership to the Department of Critical Care Medicine, ensuring the highest quality of paediatric care and multidisciplinary services to patients within Ontario, across Canada and other countries. The Chief should promote the individual research interests of faculty and also take initiative to drive a collective endeavour such as prospective outcomes research. Ensuring top quality education for clinical fellows and residents together with faculty coordinators is essential.

The successful candidate will be expected to continue to build upon a culture of quality and safety. The Department Chief will be responsible for overseeing the intramural critical care rapid response team and extramural relationships with the Provincial CritiCall Ontario consult, advice and transfer system. Leadership responsibilities at SickKids will include leadership of the Critical Care Advisory and Executive Committees, and membership on the Perioperative Services Steering Committee, Medical Advisory Committee and the Quality Improvement Committee. External to the Department, the Chief will sit on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Pediatric Critical Care Advisory Committee, and the Executive Steering Committee of the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care, at the University of Toronto. In these roles, the Chief of the Department will have important leadership and advocacy responsibilities shaping critical care across SickKids. Demonstrated clinical excellence will be critical as is the expectation that the successful candidate will also provide direct clinical care.

We are seeking an individual whose leadership qualifications include a long-term vision for the Department, management proficiency, communications expertise, mentoring capabilities, the ability to engender trust, act collaboratively and integrate Departmental activities aligned to the mission of the Department of Perioperative Services and the SickKids organization. During the current and future period of infrastructure redevelopment, the Chief role will be responsible for advocacy and guidance with Hospital leadership on behalf of the paediatric population.

Candidates must be able to function proficiently in English and hold an M.D. or equivalent degree and must be eligible for certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Candidates must obtain an appropriate visa if applicable. Candidates must also be eligible for appointment at the rank of Associate, or Full Professor at the University of Toronto.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with multi-disciplinary, clinical and basic science facilities that are available on the Hospital campus, including the 21-storey Research Institute, the MaRS Discovery District and the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto.

SickKids, located at 555 University Avenue in downtown Toronto, is among the largest children’s hospitals in North America and has a long history of excellence in clinical care, research and education. SickKids is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is located adjacent to the University campus and to numerous specialty hospitals and biomedical research institutes. It is an exciting time at SickKids as we execute our campus redevelopment project, including a new state-of-the- art acute care hospital tower.

Commensurate with qualifications and experience, we are offering a compensation package that is competitive within North America. The package combines base compensation funded through the Alternate Funding Plan arrangement with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MoHLTC) with additional partial fee-for-service funds. This arrangement values academic contributions and protected time for research, along with support for relocation expenses. A per annum stipend, in recognition of the administrative leadership responsibilities associated with the Chief Head role, will also be provided. The position has the potential duration of two terms of five years each. Toronto is a vibrant and multicultural city. It is currently the fourth largest city in North America and boasts a safe, livable, downtown area with excellent housing, schools and university access. World famous lake and wilderness country and year-round outdoor recreation are easily accessible, as are two hub airports for regional or international travel.

Our Commitment to Diversity

The children and families we care for are diverse, and so are our employees. All are welcome to join our unique organizational culture and be part of our inclusive team. The University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children are strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized person, persons of colour, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disability, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to further diversification of ideas.

Application Process

Interested applicants should email their CV and Letter of Interest (which will include the names and contact information for 3 Referees), preferably in PDF format, to the Chair, Critical Care Medicine Department Search Committee at [email protected] by the close of the search on December 31, 2020. For more information about the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto, please visit us at https://www.criticalcare.utoronto.ca/. For more information on the Research Institute please visit us at http://www.sickkids.ca/Research/index.html All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadians and Permanent Residents will be given priority. Only those applicants selected for the interview will be contacted.