Position: Division Chief, Colorectal Surgery Department of Surgery,
Emory University School of Medicine
Reports to: John F. Sweeney, MD, FACS
Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine
Director, Surgical Services, Emory Healthcare
Surgeon in Chief, Emory Healthcare
Position Summary
The Division Chief of Colorectal Surgery will serve as the leader for colorectal surgery services and will provide strategic vision, oversee clinical operations, research and teaching activities at Emory Healthcare and all affiliate sites of the Emory University School of Medicine.
The candidate will guide and support the transformation of care delivery to advance a culture of excellence in colorectal surgery. The Chief will be dedicated to the delivery of the highest quality patient care and consistency in clinical care standards, driven by patient safety requirements and clinical outcomes monitoring.
As the leader of the Division of Colorectal Surgery of the Emory School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, the candidate will be responsible for clinical services, faculty recruitment and development, the growth and advancement of research, scholarly activity and teaching excellence of the division.
Leadership Characteristics
Leadership
Commitment to the development, implementation and promotion of Colorectal Surgery initiatives designed to deliver patient care that is safe, personal, coordinated and of the highest quality and value.
Understand the organization and external landscape of colorectal surgery and is able to anticipate and articulate the critical issues, opportunities and threats in the foreseeable future.
Exhibits an appreciation for the need for preparation, collaboration, planning, communication, and benchmarking of results in their approach to problem solving and program building.
Is committed to the professional and leadership development of colleagues, mentees, and self.
Acts with honor and integrity in personal and professional actions.
Develops strong partnerships with all relevant constituents and contributes to the success of all entities.
Foster an environment that supports successful recruitment, retention and development of outstanding faculty and staff.
Regionally and nationally recognized to facilitate mentorship and faculty development
Management
Skilled at organizing and managing human resources, including resolving conflict.
Understands and passionately advocates for compliance with institutional and external regulations.
Ability to delegate effectively while maintaining focus on strategy and overall goals of the Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine and Emory Healthcare.
Understands the nuances of administration of educational and research activities.
Work collaboratively with counterparts in other Surgery subspecialties, Anesthesiology, nursing and operative room staff and other related staff in the development and implementation of care pathways and protocols to ensure an optimum level of care is being delivered.
Demonstrated experience/knowledge of strategic planning, finances including budgets and the basic principles of faculty practice plans, strategic planning, operations improvement, and health system development and management.
Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and education environment and a continued commitment to do so.
Mission Performance
Demonstrates enthusiastic advocacy for the Division of Colorectal Surgery’s multiple missions and its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Demonstrates an appropriate understanding of and enthusiasm for each of the three missions of an academic health sciences center.
Demonstrates commitment to the teaching mission through didactic activity, participation in curriculum oversight and planning, and developing innovative approaches to education and training.
Understands the broad research mission – basic, translational, and clinical – and is committed to its success and sustainability.
Personal and Interpersonal
A style that fosters and supports change and innovation, with an ability to delegate yet maintain overall control and to set high standards.
Exhibits self-awareness, humility, and empathy in their interactions with others.
Has the courage to act on convictions after adequate communication and gathering of facts and input.
Exhibits optimism and a high energy level with an orientation toward innovation and action.
Exhibits the values and behavior of a good citizen in their actions within the organization.
Encourages trust, transparency, and optimism.
Communicates naturally, frequently, and effectively especially within the divisional faculty and trainees.
Demonstrates cultural awareness and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Demonstrated experience in promoting a culture that is collaborative, team oriented, and one that respects the skill sets and opinions of all faculty and staff.
The candidate will be an effective developer of people who can manage a large and complex portfolio of issues and rapidly assess situations with multiple outcomes and consequences.
The candidate will be a flexible problem-solver with the ability to create or influence win-win outcomes.
The candidate must be wise, seasoned, judicious, and principled, must be able to make sound decisions about resources, direction, individuals, and risks within a strategic view of the Department’s opportunities and challenges.
Able to work collaboratively with a diverse group of faculty, staff and students and with colleagues who may be close at hand or may be widely distributed across the enterprise.
The candidate should be a trusted counselor to the Chair and to the Department’s senior leadership and a trusted partner to the organizations’ leadership.
The candidate should be committed to working with the Chair to build a workplace culture that is capable of executing change to meet business objectives.
Relevant Experience
Demonstrates a career progression that has prepared them for a position of this scope, complexity, and scale.
Has served as a leader with knowledge and experience in academic institutions, health centers, teaching hospitals, leadership of departments, research institutes, centers of excellence, or other mission critical entities as appropriate.
Understands clinical medicine from the perspective of personal clinical practice experience.
Has participated in the management of a clinical and/or a research enterprise and demonstrates an understanding of the issues involved.
Demonstrates experience in fiscal management.
Demonstrates experience in fundraising.
Demonstrates experience in advancing a diverse faculty.
Has knowledge of the value of health-related research and education and exhibits the capability to help to integrate the medical school and the clinical enterprise.
Education and Credentials
Candidates must be board certified in Colorectal Surgery, hold current rank of Associate Professor or Professor and have academic credentials sufficient to engender respect within Emory and the national academic community at large.
Successful candidates should possess excellent clinical skills and a strong track record in research and teaching, have scholarly accomplishments in the health sciences, as well as recognition in the field of Colorectal Surgery as evidenced by involvement in clinical societies at a national level.
Qualified candidates would have demonstrated administrative and leadership accomplishments as well as an aptitude for mentoring and staff development.
The successful candidate will have had progressive leadership experience in complex academic environments.
The candidate will exhibit a substantive understanding of the important issues in colorectal surgery, as well as a deep understanding of academic health centers.
Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine
The Department of Surgery has approximately 160+ faculty, 150+ trainees and 300+ staff across the four Emory Healthcare hospitals and the three affiliates – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), Atlanta VA Health Care System and Grady Health. The Department is comprised of ten divisions, with ten division chiefs and faculty leadership at affiliate sites such as Surgeon-in-Chief at CHOA and Grady Health System as well as a faculty leader representing the Northern Arc Hospitals. The Department interacts directly with three Centers – Emory Transplant Center, Heart and Vascular Center and the Center for Critical Care.
The Department of Surgery is committed to providing a safe environment to work and learn and strives to provide a safe environment that is conducive to intellectual engagement, learning, and working in positive ways. The Department is dedicated to promoting a fair and accessible environment for our community through collaboration with our healthcare and university partners. The Department seeks to establish a faculty, staff and trainee composition that reflects the diversity of our constituency and to further ensure their growth and development within our academic community.
Division of Colorectal Surgery
Emory colorectal surgeons specialize in minimally invasive surgery and work with multidisciplinary teams that include radiologists, pathologists, pharmacists, and advanced practice nurses. The division was formed in 2016 and is focused on advancing patient care, research, and education for future generations of colorectal surgeons. The Division of Colorectal Surgery treats patients for cancerous and non-cancerous conditions at Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, and Emory Johns Creek Hospital, and also sees colon and rectal cancer patients as part of the coordinated multispecialty care provided by the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Research
Current projects include investigating methods of refining specific treatments for inflammatory bowel disease patients; defining any barriers to implementing Enhanced Recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols throughout the Department of Surgery; evaluating novel imaging techniques to improve the accuracy of clinical staging for rectal cancer; and examining novel medications to determine their ability to improve response rates, local recurrence, and survival of rectal cancer patients.
Education
The Division of Colorectal Surgery offers prospective fellows a choice of two programs: the ACGME-accredited Colorectal Surgery Fellowship and the non-ACGME-accredited Minimially Invasive Colorectal Surgery Fellowship. Fellows learn directly from faculty and are provided experience opportunities at one of four clinical locations: Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, and Emory Johns Creek Hospital. Additionally, fellows have the opportunity to coordinate with the Emory Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Georgia's first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, which also has clinics at these four campuses.
For Consideration
Interested candidates may submit a letter of interest & curriculum vitae including current research portfolio to:
S. Ashley McCullough on behalf of
John F. Sweeney, MD, FACS
Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine
Director, Surgical Services, Emory Healthcare
Surgeon-in-Chief, Emory Healthcare
Emory University is an EOAA employer.
Women and members of minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Emory offers a highly competitive salary and fringe benefits package.
