Company Description

Nova Scotia Health is the largest provider of health services in Nova Scotia, delivering care through hospitals, health centres and community-based programs across the province. Join Nova Scotia's thriving healthcare ecosystem, where your expertise is valued and your contributions drive innovative, compassionate care for generations to come. 

Job Description

Queens General Hospital (QGH) in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, has an opportunity for a family medicine physician to join our Hospitalist Service to provide inpatient care one to two weeks per month.  Our physician team feels a significant degree of responsibility for the facility and our team dynamic. We are a close-knit team that works diligently to nurture the supportive and welcoming culture we have created over time. If you need help here, you’ll get help—we are committed to each other. The entire medical community here values a team-based approach to medicine that spans roles and specialties, and the combination of that teamwork and our modernized facilities makes it possible for us to keep our friends and neighbors in our community with emphasis on avoiding transfer wherever possible.

Among the more common presentations on our medical floor are:

• COPD and heart failure exacerbations
• Stable myocardial infarction awaiting catheterization
• End-of-life/palliative care
• Decompensated cirrhosis
• Post-surgical rehabilitation
• Behavioral and psychosocial symptoms of dementia
• Sepsis
• Delirium

Most of our physicians currently performing hospitalist work split their scheduled week between the medical floor and their family practice, so most weeks we have two hospitalists splitting the patient roster. However, we are interested in speaking with physicians who are willing to provide either solo or split coverage.
Physicians managing the QGH Hospitalist Service are expected to:

• Coordinate patient care and lead a multidisciplinary inpatient team
• Participate in twice-weekly team rounds and other quality improvement and evaluation activities
• Manage the medical needs of 20-26 inpatients throughout their respective hospitalizations (on average, this will make for around an eight-hour shift per day)
• Facilitate patient transfers to facilities with higher levels of care if medically indicated
• Coordinate appropriate community-based care upon discharge, if necessary

Responsibilities

• ensure the delivery of comprehensive primary health care services to patients of all ages and stages of health or illness
• be accountable for appropriate workload and practice
• continuum of patient care with health care providers within your practice and/or community
• provide care and coordination of community-based care, secondary and tertiary level heath care
• operate within the Bylaws and Rules and Regulations of Nova Scotia Health Authority
• work in collaboration with other team members in the hospital to best suit the community’s health needs
• participate in quality improvement and evaluation activities
• utilize an electronic medical record (EMR) and record all relevant patient details in a provincially approved EMR which is accessible to all collaborating team members

Expected Hours

• permanent, full or part time available
• weekly hours: 7 days on/7 days off
• 46/52 weeks per year
• Be available for overnight calls from nursing staff caring for inpatients under your care
  • Call may be taken from the physician’s residence
  • Expected response time from notification to arrival on site is twenty minutes
  • The vast majority of calls do not require in-person intervention; however, the physician must be available if a patient’s presentation makes it necessary
  • Depending on roster size and acuity, it is quite common to receive no calls overnight

Remuneration

• Remuneration of approximately $10,000 to $12,000 per Monday-Sunday work week, depending on volume
• An on-call stipend of an additional $350 per weeknight and $500 per weekend night
• The ability to bill on a fee-for-service basis for patients seen between 5:00 PM and 8:00 AM

Incentives  

Eligible physicians may qualify for recruitment incentives, relocation support and site visit reimbursement through Nova Scotia Health and the Province of Nova Scotia. View Incentive Details Here 

Benefits  

Successful candidates may be eligible for a benefits package through Doctors Nova Scotia including health and dental, EMR grants, CME funding, parental leave, and physician advisors. Visit Doctors Nova Scotia for more information.  

Province of Nova Scotia offers funded locum coverage and the Physician Retirement Fund matching program.  

Qualifications

• all applicants must be eligible for licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS) 
• all applicants must be eligible for certification with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) 
• membership with the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) 

Additional Information

Our Community

From colonial captains’ homes to scenic seaside parks, privateering history of beaches, Liverpool is a storied coastal community. Liverpool sits on the shores of the Mersey River and the Atlantic Ocean, showcasing a stunning waterfront with historic buildings and fishing boats. 

The downtown area of Liverpool features well-preserved Victorian architecture and a quaint, inviting atmosphere. Peruse the shops and galleries along Main Street, while enjoying local baked treats. Views of Mersey River from downtown parks and trails celebrate Liverpool’s seafaring heritage.  

Liverpool

Practicing in Nova Scotia 

Physicians in Nova Scotia provide fulfilling patient care which embraces family life, professional development and community involvement. That's what makes practicing medicine in Nova Scotia unique. Physicians are increasingly attracted to practices that offer team-based care to their patients and allow them to consult with their peers. The size and scale of Nova Scotia allows for better connections across the health care system. Your practice of medicine and your life is richer here. Nova Scotia is more than medicine.  

Building a Diverse Workforce 

The Physician Recruitment Team at Nova Scotia Health lives and works in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. We are dedicated to equity, diversity, inclusion, and truth and reconciliation, and we are working to support medical communities that are reflective of and responsive to the diverse populations they serve in Nova Scotia. We welcome physicians from diverse backgrounds and experiences to join us in building healthier, more equitable communities across the province.