Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s) and Emory University School of Medicine (Emory) are seeking a visionary and collaborative physician leader with a strong clinical and academic foundation to serve as Division Chief, Nephrology.
The Division Chief will serve as the primary physician leader for Nephrology for Children’s providing strategic leadership and oversight for quality, safety, and clinical operations. They will guide the design of care delivery advancing care consistency, efficiency, and a culture of excellence in Nephrology. This leader will be dedicated to the implementation of professional and clinical care standards, team-based care driven by evidence-based care guidelines and mutual accountability.
As the leader of the Division, the Chief will be responsible for clinical program development, faculty recruitment, workforce development, the growth and advancement of research, scholarly activity, and educational excellence of the trainees within the Division. This leader will continue to improve education/training and sustain a strong commitment to leading Division research efforts.
This leader will advance a culture of excellence, accountability, and care innovation by developing and assessing new models of care for Endocrinology patients to improve outcomes. The Division Chief will be dedicated to performance measures by providing the highest quality patient care and clinical care standards driven by patient safety and regulatory requirements, clinical outcomes monitoring, patient and family experience expectations.
The Division Chief will continue to raise the bar with contemporary training programs, mentorship platforms, clinical delivery, service, and a strong commitment to research efforts.
It is anticipated that the Division Chief will be a visible, inspiring leader with a clinical practice presence to foster credibility and to develop an appreciation for division operations and its providers. Furthermore, a clinical presence will allow this leader to identify potential solutions and see the impact of these initiatives. This position requires an individual who has a passion for providing outstanding care, a desire to improve systems to maximize efficiency, the leadership to engage physicians in team-based care and an enduring commitment to providing an environment conducive to maximizing education and scholarly work. The Division Chief will craft the long-term vision for Nephrology at Children’s and Emory while advancing the key mission areas to engage and inspire the faculty to reach these goals while holding the team accountable
This position requires an individual who has a passion for providing outstanding care, a desire to improve systems to maximize efficiency, the leadership to engage physicians in team-based care and an enduring commitment to providing an environment conducive to maximizing education and scholarly work. The Division Chief will craft the long-term vision for Nephrology at Children’s and Emory while advancing the key mission areas to engage and inspire the faculty to reach these goals while holding the team accountable
Reporting Relationships
Reports To:
- Pediatrician-in-Chief/Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Key Relationships:
- Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer
- Director, Physician Practice Operations
- Practice Manager, Physician Practice Operations
- Chief, Children’s Physician Group (CPG)
- Chief Operating Officer, Children’s Physician Group (CPG)
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical
- Oversee the delivery of clinical services in the Division’s areas of practice and develop resources (including personnel and programs) related to these services in conjunction with the respective clinical directors or hospital administrators.
- Assure appropriate and continuous coverage of inpatient, outpatient, and consultative services at all relevant clinical sites.
- Assure participation of Division personnel in quality improvement, safety, and patient satisfaction initiatives.
- Strengthen position in US News and World rankings (process, structure, and outcomes), advancing to a top 10 nephrology division nationally, through analysis, review and recommendation of practice enhancements, including clinical care delivery models, care guidelines and protocols.
- Work with partners and committees within the institution to assess implementation in advancement of care.
- Examine and enhance models of care to improve health outcomes.
- Build a high quality, well-developed network of cohesive physician providers. Foster positive relationships with other clinicians including community and referring providers.
- Assure compliance with all relevant Department, clinic, and hospital policies and procedures. Assures compliance with all medical records documentation requirements and appropriate billing procedures.
- Ensure that the Division is responsive to the needs of those it serves clinically (patients, families, referring physicians, other divisions/ departments, etc.).
- Meet the demand of patients by ensuring outpatient clinic appointments are within the guidelines of system patient access targets.
- Assume responsibility for faculty members achieving their productivity targets.
- Facilitate growth to meet the demands and needs of Metro Atlanta and other communities in Georgia and supports the expansion of regional networks and partnerships. Helps Children’s achieve the right balance between acting locally and having the horsepower and responsibility to achieve globally.
Administrative
- Foster a collegial environment that supports the successful recruitment, retention, and development of outstanding faculty and staff.
- Define and communicate expectations for faculty members, provides the faculty needed support to achieve goals, and reviews performance in individual meetings at least annually using the Career Development Conference Report. Understands the University promotion and tenure process and its requirements and mentor faculty members—or arrange mentoring—accordingly.
- Assign clinical, administrative, educational, service, and research roles to the faculty in ways that promote the division and department while bearing responsibility for Divisional productivity and academic performance.
- Foster excellent communication, teamwork, and cooperation in carrying out the scholarly, educational, and clinical missions of the Division and the Department.
- Provide adequate Divisional infrastructure for faculty and staff to carry out their responsibilities.
- Partner in fundraising endeavors, contributing to new and existing partnerships and philanthropic opportunities.
- Demonstrate the highest degree of professionalism and ensures that faculty achieve that as well.
- Demonstrate accountability for financial performance and stewardship of resources. Develops case for support to achieve fundraising targets and collaborates with business partners to drive optimum financial performance and viability.
- Develop and manage the Divisional budget effectively, productively, equitably, and efficiently to support the missions of the Division and the Department.
- Identify initiatives and priorities and allocates resources to advance these initiatives.
- Support faculty in attracting, leveraging, and retaining sponsored research and grant dollars.
- Manage the Division’s capital assets, including both current assets and plans for replacement and renewal.
Research
- Encourage, guide, and support a comprehensive vision for research activities across the enterprise. Develop the goals and the structure necessary to reach the vision.
- Ensure responsible and compliant conduct of research.
- Seek to optimize both the research synergies between Divisional faculty and the research activities elsewhere within Emory.
- Foster cooperative and interdisciplinary research activities with other divisions, departments, and schools and with community physicians.
- Support faculty in attracting, leveraging, and retaining sponsored research and grant dollars.
- Support and promotes a research environment that involves trainees (including students, residents, fellows, advanced practice providers) and attendings.
- Assist the organization in ensuring mechanisms are implemented to meet external regulations regarding research program compliance.
- Oversee and manages the research funds, equipment, facilities, and personnel assigned to the Division or its investigators. The effectiveness of the Division’s research programs would be demonstrated by regular publications in top peer review journals, by presentations in notable scientific meetings, and by substantial and growing extramural funding.
- Grow philanthropy to support the generation of research dollars.
Teaching/Education
- Ensure the Department of Pediatrics maintains the highest standard in training medical students, residents, and fellows.
- Create, support, facilitate, and implement the educational programs of the Division, including curricula for medical student, resident, and fellow training; and for graduate and postdoctoral training-- to satisfy or exceed national and accreditation standards.
- Develop a collaborative vision, with a track record for successfully implementing new initiatives that meet the challenges of academic medicine and clinical care.
- Ensure academic programs meet external regulations and accrediting standards.
- Build collaborative partnerships within Children’s, Department of Pediatrics and across Emory to achieve top performance. Works harmoniously with others to ensure efficient and high-quality health care and other services.
- Establish governance mechanisms that ensure participation in the academic affairs of Children’s and Emory. Holds regular meetings to fully involve members in the organization and executive leadership. Communicate key departmental, university, medical group, and hospital information to executive leadership.
- Provide leadership at the local, regional, state, national and international levels in clinical and academic matters.
- Conduct Divisional and programmatic reviews and appropriately assign faculty to carry out the educational programs.
- Evaluate the performance of faculty, students, and graduates ensuring that goals and professional standards are met or exceeded.
Candidate Qualifications
The candidate will have the following credentials:
Education and Certification Summary
- Doctor of Medicine (MD/DO) from an accredited school of medicine; Board Certification as a Pediatric Nephrologist and eligibility for licensure in Georgia.
- Completion of three-year fellowship in pediatric nephrology from an ACGME accredited program
- Meet eligibility requirements for credentialing as part of Children’s professional staff.
- Eligible for an appointment as an Associate Professor or Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine
Experience and Skills
- An experienced academic and operational leader with vision, enthusiasm, and executive presence with a track record as a unifier. Can successfully galvanize a group to one vision.
- Significant clinical experience and clinical operations/management experience with the capacity to align/engage physicians and clinicians.
- Clinical experience with 5-10 years of administrative or leadership experience in a pediatric hospital or health care setting.
- Passion for patient care and service that permeates through the team including the ability to lead service improvement efforts by example.
- National reputation of excellence in clinical care and/or education and research, gained within an advanced and highly complex market.
- Experience building and maintaining partnerships between clinical and non-clinical stakeholders.
Personal Characteristics
- A transformational and strategic leader who can establish an inspiring vision, who is committed to growing and developing clinicians, faculty, staff, and trainees, achieving prestige through the success of the program and its members rather than primarily through his or her own clinical and research work.
- Continually demonstrates excellence in all communications with high energy, enthusiasm, and a professional demeanor. Clearly conveys information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the message.
- A confident manager with business skills who knows how to achieve challenging performance goals in complex, evolving environments, including balancing his or her own strengths and weaknesses with complementary associates.
- A mentor with strong coaching skills to nurture the development of team members.
- A teacher who enjoys interchange with students, residents, and faculty.
- An individual of the highest integrity with high levels of energy, maturity, and flexibility and a reputation for fairness and idealism.
- An approachable and enthusiastic leader who is accessible and visible and who can engage the community for philanthropic support.
- Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; compares data from different sources to draw conclusions; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or develop appropriate solutions; takes action that is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences.
- Maintains advanced knowledge of medicine, healthcare, and the functions over which this position provides senior-level leadership.
- Broad, visionary thinker. Keeps the organization’s vision and values at the forefront of decision making and action, while proactively seeking opportunities with medical staff to lead process improvement in a positive, collaborative manner.
Key Leadership Competencies
- History of successful team development empowering high performance through visionary leadership, delegation, and operational excellence.
- Demonstrates poise and self-control, establishes credibility, addresses conflict diplomatically and instills a sense of trust and confidence in others.
- A mentor and leader of people who motivates others toward team orientation, open communication, and trust, drives accountability while supporting faculty and staff.
- A role model of personal and professional integrity and a visible leader.
- Demonstrates aptitude for resolving conflict and problem solving.
- A strong communicator and diplomat who is able to inspire and effectively communicate with wide and diverse audiences at all levels of the organization and externally.
- An ability to inspire and align faculty and staff, both those within the department and those with whom the department interacts.
Children’s Division of Pediatric Nephrology
In 2023, Children’s performed 24 kidney transplants, and followed approximately 210 kidney transplant recipients. Children’s also currently follows 44 chronic dialysis patients. Children’s has dedicated clinics for kidney transplantation, peritoneal dialysis, lupus (with rheumatology), hypertension, transition of kidney transplant patients, and chronic kidney disease.
Our ACGME accredited fellowship program was founded in 2007 and we currently have six fellows. Since 2006, our program has grown from two faculty and one APP to 13 faculty and six APPs.
We offer excellent opportunities for clinical research utilizing our NIH funded Pediatric Research Center within Children’s. There are cores for processing and storage of patient samples, grant writing, and statistical support. Our division has over 40 IRB approved protocols and six full-time research coordinators. Children’s and Emory have one of the most active pediatric nephrology clinical research programs in the United States.
Procedure for Candidacy
Qualified candidates should complete the online application and upload a CV. Inquiries should be sent to Mark Lotz, Children’s Director of Executive and Physician Recruiting, via email at mark.lotz@choa.org.
Additional Information
The Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute is an affiliation between Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that is improving the lives of children in Georgia and beyond. The Pediatric Institute combines the unique strengths and resources of each institution in support of our three-part academic missions of providing outstanding clinical care, conducting innovative basic science discovery and clinical research, and coordinating exceptional education of the future healthcare workforce. Our physicians, researchers, and educators have created a model where leadership, commitment and quality are fundamental components of success. Together, we are transforming pediatrics by achieving new levels of clinical excellence—driven by research, teaching and wellness. We look forward to our future together.