Co-Medical Director - Primary Care

The General Practice Medical Director (GPMD) under direction of the field management team, is responsible for establishing the medical quality and patient care practiced by General Practice doctors in the hospital. The GPMD achieves this through strong leadership and serving as a mentor and role model for the associate veterinarians and staff. The GPMD should demonstrate a strong work ethic, integrity, and a consistently positive attitude. The GPMD is also an integral part of the hospital management team responsible for the overall financial performance of the hospital and helps create and drive the overall direction for the hospital that will achieve positive results. The GPMD also fulfills all the duties of a staff veterinarian in addition to the specific responsibilities of Medical Director.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Well-developed interpersonal skills.
• Ability to take information obtained from clients, staff, and other sources, discern that which is credible, and assess the hospital and/or a situation objectively.
• Ability to multi-task and deal with high levels of stress in an environment of changing priorities.
• Can take charge, initiate actions, hold people accountable, and delegate responsibilities in such a way as to achieve positive results.
• Comfortably and confidently confronts difficult issues with co-workers and is a skilled communicator at multiple levels within VCA.
• Is capable of, and willing to work the hours necessary to accomplish the required responsibilities and ensure the smooth operation of the hospital.

Education and Experience:

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or equivalent from an accredited university.
• Maintains a current DEA license
• Stays up to date with changes in veterinary medicine, fulfils VCA requirements for attending local VCA hosted CE, and completes a minimum of 30 hours of accredited CE per calendar year.

Duties:

Standards of Care:

• Strives to meet or exceed the VCA and AAHA standards of care. Implements and maintains consistent medical standards and guidelines within the hospital.
• Medical records are complete in a timely manner and detailed, setting a standard for General Practice Veterinarians.
• Demonstrates commitment to professional integrity and pursuit of excellence.
• Practices ethical medicine at all times and ensures the same from associate doctors.
• Ensures positive communication with clients and between doctors. This includes the proper transfer of patient care responsibility between doctors.
• Implements information from CMO, RMD, ROD and their representatives.
• VCA email and correspondence is processed and addressed daily.
• Is the primary liaison with Antech Diagnostics and maintains an appropriate level of in-house vs. outside lab sample submission.
• Reviews Halo Patient Safety Reports and follows up to address them as appropriate, including Root Cause Analysis and implementation of measures to prevent future errors. Fosters culture of psychological safety and encourages error reporting.

Patient/Client Management:

• Oversees administration and case review of client medical complaints involving general practice veterinarians and resolves the problems, when possible, while keeping the HA and HM informed of progress. Escalates malpractice and/or VMB complaints to include RMD/ROD awareness and consultation.
• Oversees administration and case review of client medical complaints and resolves, when possible, while keeping the RMD and ROD informed of progress.

Staff Management: Professional Staff:

• Is available to consult with associate veterinarians regarding cases, providing advice, expertise, and guidance. Promotes camaraderie between hospital specialists and general practice doctors, towards the goal of all doctors providing highest quality patient care.
• Participates in the training and mentorship of interns, working with the intern director to become aware of needs in our program.
• Conducts regular meetings with general practice veterinarians, providing a forum to hear concerns and brainstorm solutions.
• Assists the Recruiting Director and field management team in the hiring of new associate veterinarians and helps identify needs. Main point of contact for itinerary schedules of candidates, scheduling candidate dinners, making sure their CVs are distributed and maintaining a relationship with the candidates to ensure a successful visit.
• Assists HA and HM with disciplinary process of doctors if needed. Develops a vision for growth of the practice, including expansion of services, working with the HA, HM, SPER MD and field management team to achieve such growth.
• Actively manages associate veterinarians to ensure that they meet expected performance. Reviews medical records and discharge instructions for completeness and professionalism. Completes performance reviews for associate veterinarians and conducts regular check-ins.
• Ensure that credit for procedures is accurately appropriated and review the detailed orders to ensure that charges are captured and properly assigned.
• Ensure CE requirements are met by all doctors, and that CE attended is relevant to the service mix and needs of the hospital.
• Appropriately manage controlled drugs (see VCA Controlled Substances Guidelines).

Staff Management: Technicians/Assistants and Receptionists:

• Assist the HM and HA in ensuring each staff meeting has relevant topics, presenting a medical topic if needed and participate proactively in the meetings.
• Encourage all staff to increase knowledge through learning opportunities.
• Review staffing with the Hospital Administrator, Hospital Manager and Technician Manager to ensure maximum productivity and optimal client service.

Responsibilities as Part of the Hospital Leadership Team:

• Works with the HM, HA and staff to deliver a consistent medical message and consistent client experience to each client.
• Responsible for auditing hospital production for accuracy via chart audits and other fee capture methods.
• Represents the hospital to the professional community and the general public as requested.
• Evaluates the need for new medical equipment and works with the HM and HA to prepare and submit new equipment proformas to the ROD or their representatives.
• Brings to the HM and HA's attention any problems with physical plant cleanliness, safety, or repairs.
• Participates in meetings or conference calls as requested by field management staff.
• Participates in employee disciplinary procedures, and enforces VCA and individual hospital Associate guidelines and policies.

Financial Responsibilities:

• Works with the Hospital Administrator to prepare and submit the yearly budget (budget forecast, operating plan, capital expenditures-equipment and construction projects), as it relates to general practice services, and participates in the evaluation process with field management (ROD/RMD).
• Support the implementation of VCA marketing programs.
• Review and approve requests for alternatives of additional drugs and medical supplies. Submit to the RMD or their representative, for approval. Assist the medical supplies ordering personnel to maintain a hospital pharmacy; assisting in evaluating reasonable reorder points, generic alternatives, and eliminating underused and redundant drugs.

If you are a current associate, you need to apply through our internal career site. Please log into Workday and click on the Jobs Hub app or search for Browse Jobs.

Benefits: We offer competitive compensation along with a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision and paid vacation/sick days, 401(k), generous employee pet discounts and more!

The information in this position description indicates the general nature and level of work to be performed. It is not designed to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of associates assigned to this job. Management reserves the right to revise the job description or require that other tasks be performed when the circumstances of the job change (for example, emergencies, change in personnel, workload, or technical development).

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer - Veterans / Disabled. For a complete EEO statement please see our career page at vcacareers.com.