Senior Medical Lead, Geriatric Psychiatry Division

The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (The Royal) is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care, teaching, and research hospitals. As a specialized academic health sciences centre, The Royal is committed to helping people living with mental illness and addiction into recovery faster. With over 500 beds and 19,000 outpatients served annually, The Royal delivers innovative, evidence-informed care across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings, including forensic psychiatry, geriatric mental health, operational stress injuries, schizophrenia, mood disorders and substance use disorders. Its campuses span Ottawa and Brockville, with strong partnerships across the region and province. 

The Position

The Senior Medical Lead, Geriatric Psychiatry, will provide clinical and leadership oversight to the Geriatric Psychiatry Division at The Royal. This large division is tasked to provide inpatient and outpatient services to older adults with a variety of mental disorders, including Cognitive Disorders (e.g., “dementia”), Depressive Disorders, Bipolar Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). These disorders may present co-morbidly with Substance Use Disorders, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Personality Disorders.

The services provided by this division include 45 inpatient beds, several outreach services, and a large outpatient clinic providing one-time consultations and episodes of care to adult patients referred by their primary care providers (see Appendix 1).  

Reporting to the Medical Director, General Psychiatry, the Senior Medical Lead leads medical operations and contributes to strategic directions for the clinical services of the Geriatric Psychiatry Division. They ensure high standards of care for patients living with mental health disorders in alignment with The Royal’s mission and vision.  

The Senior Medical Lead is responsible for developing and implementing evidence-based clinical procedures, promoting collaboration across multidisciplinary teams, and supporting physicians and clinical staff in setting standards.

The role also includes ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and fostering a culture of clinical excellence. This position is integral in advancing the hospital’s objectives, enhancing patient care, improving access to services, and promoting a patient-centered approach in all aspects of service delivery.

Key Accountabilities:

1.   Medical Leadership & Service Integration

·        Provide leadership: plan and maintain clinical services across the Geriatric Psychiatry Division, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, values, and patient care standards.

·        With the Director, Patient Care Services, develop, implement, and maintain clinical policies, guidelines, protocols, and standard operating procedures for mental health and addiction services, integrating evidence-based practices to enhance patient care while leading a collaborative multidisciplinary team.

·        Attend regular scheduled management meetings, including the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) as a voting member, the Medical Leadership Team (MLT), and the Clinical Leadership Team (CLT). They also organize and lead a meeting with all the physicians of the Geriatric Psychiatry Division.

·        Participates in the planning and implementation of new information technology to improve patient care and clinical workflows.

·        Participate in the recruitment and selection process for physicians and other healthcare staff within the Geriatric Psychiatry Division, ensuring the recruitment and development of qualified professionals to meet organizational needs.

2.   Collaboration and Communication:

·        Foster and participate in relevant partnerships within the Royal and throughout the Eastern Ontario region.

·        Facilitate collaboration between physicians and healthcare providers within and outside divisions in the Royal to create integrated care plans, supporting a holistic approach to patient care and ensuring positive outcomes for patients and their families throughout their mental health and addiction journey.

·        Foster a positive, inclusive work environment, promoting open communication and respect for diverse perspectives within the medical team.

·        With the Director, Patient Care Services, ensure that a process is in place for disciplinary action as necessary: Provide a process for resolution of clinical disputes, including liaison with the Manager, Client and Family Relations when necessary.

·        Be part of the reporting and investigation process for critical incidents

·        Follow up on physician complaints and ensure appropriate action and resolution as appropriate, including timely communication with the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff.

·        Ensuring, usually via communications and regularly scheduled meetings, that the Physicians in the division: (i) are adequately aware of the activities of The Board, Senior Management Team, and the MAC: and (ii) provide input and share their concerns about the role and activities of the Division.

3.   Compliance and Quality Assurance Leadership:

Ensure that clinical care is determined by:

·        Evidence-based approaches, best practices, and clinical practice guidelines where they exist, or in the spirit of discovery and innovation, encourage the safe delivery/development of novel approaches where they do not.

·        Support the standardization of clinical services, where appropriate, and the implementation of measurement-based care to inform clinical decision making, monitor outcomes and drive quality improvement initiatives.

·        Outcome, service evaluations and quality of care/critical incident reviews.

·        Ensuring that all physicians within the division are compliant with the expectations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

·        Ensuring that clinical coverage of all patients receiving care within the division is continuous, including matters relating to coverage (vacations, leaves of absence, retirements or deaths), as well as cooperation with the on-call and after-hours medicine groups.

4.   Budgeting and Resource Optimization:

·        Actively participates in resource allocation decisions in the division through the annual budget planning process.

·        With the Chief of Staff/Medical Director, ensures that all stipendiary physician fees are administered according to the needs/priorities of the division, and within the assigned budget.

·        With the Director, Patient Care Services, ensure a mechanism is in place to regularly monitor resource allocation and utilization and jointly determine corrective action, when required.

5.   Medical Human Resources:

·        Anticipate the Division’s requirements for input into the hospital’s overall physician resource plan. This includes assisting the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff with physician recruitment to meet the Division’s physician staffing needs.

·        Ensure physician job descriptions are developed and kept up-to-date for each physician within the Division.

·        Monitor medical staff clinical performance and provide feedback as necessary.

·        Complete the annual performance reviews of each physician in the Division (with the assistance of the Medical Director, Senior Medical Officer, and Chief of Staff). Where physicians work across more than one division, the annual performance review is the responsibility of the SML (or ML) of the division where the physician works the most, in consultation with the SMLs or MLs of the other divisions.

All leadership roles at The Royal are expected to:

·        Actively demonstrate The Royal’s iCARE values: innovation, collaboration, accountability, and respect by seeking improvements, working collaboratively with colleagues and clients, taking ownership of their actions, and promoting a respectful and inclusive workplace culture.

·        Work in a manner that complies with staff and patient/client safety practices, policies and procedures of The Royal.

·        Ensure a work environment that is conducive to the Royal’s Anti-Racism, Harassment, and Discrimination-Free

·        Workplace and work safety policies and practices.

·        Demonstrate commitment to health equity, value diversity and contribute to an inclusive working environment.

·        Support the department/unit by performing other duties as necessary to uphold organizational standards and

·        Contribute to both clinical and administrative functions, where applicable.

The Candidate

You are a physician licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons with 4-8 years of clinical experience in the mental health field, including at least 3 years in a leadership role within mental health services. You have in-depth knowledge of modern psychiatric practices, evidence-based therapies, and mental health clinical care standards, including those specific to inpatient and outpatient settings. 

You bring a systems mindset to clinical leadership, with the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics while maintaining a focus on patient and family needs. Your leadership experience reflects not only operational oversight but also the ability to influence culture, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and improve clinical outcomes at scale. You understand the importance of physician engagement and are committed to building strong, accountable teams that thrive in a culture of trust, performance, and shared purpose.

Education/Professional Credentials:

·        Licensed physician in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

·        Master’s Degree in a relevant discipline; or a suitable combination of education and experience.

·        Strong track record of academic activities; must be eligible for an academic appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher.

Appendix 1

The Geriatric Psychiatry Division provides a comprehensive continuum of geriatric mental health services. This includes:

• Ambulatory Care Services – Geriatric Psychiatry Day Hospital: Assessment, treatment, and urgent interventions for older adults with psychiatric illnesses.
• Champlain Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO): Behavioural Therapists provide assessments and non-drug interventions to reduce challenging behaviours and improve care.
• Urban and Rural Geriatric Outreach: Delivers specialized psychiatric care to older adults in the Champlain Eastern Ontario Region, all Ottawa long-term care homes and supports various living arrangements with an interprofessional team.
• Inpatient Services: A 45-bed (inclusive of 2 surge and 1 Nunavut) unit with admissions from the community, hospitals and direct long-term care admissions and repatriation agreements to improve patient flow and reduce ALC days.
• Research: Fosters academic and clinical partnerships to advance geriatric psychiatry research.