Hospice medical director job description

This post includes 3 parts: duties list, job qualification and job description writing tips for Hospice medical director in details. A complete job description concludes Hospice medical director key duties/responsibilities, Hospice medical director job qualifications (knowledge, education, skills, abilities, experience…KSA model) and other ones such as daily tasks, key activities, key/core competencies, job functions/purpose…

I. List of Hospice medical director duties:

1. Provides oversight and/or supervises all hospice Associate Medical Directors, nurse practitioners, and contract physicians in coordination with the Executive Director.
2. Participates in and provides oversight of the palliative care consultation service.
3. Responsible for the overall medical component of the care and treatment of terminally ill patients and their families.
4. Provides palliation and management of terminal illness conditions related to the terminal illness.
5. Provides medical care interventions targeting unmet general medical needs.
6. Attends IDG and collaborates with the Hospice Team to ensure that the medical needs of the patient are met and providing oversight of the plan of care.
7. Collaborates with the patient's attending physician to develop and update the patient's plan of care, to identify needs not met by the attending physician, and to ensure pain and symptom management and control.
8. Serves as medical resource to hospice staff, patients, families, and attending physicians regarding pain and symptom control management.
9. Insures provision of direct medical services to patients either directly or through arrangements, as appropriate, in the absence of the patient's attending physician.
10. Demonstrates knowledge in communications and counseling patient and family in dealing with end of life issues.
11. Participates in resolution of interpersonal conflict and issues of clinical and ethical concerns.
12. Documents care provided in the medical record providing evidence of progression of the end-stage disease process.
13. Provides Pre-election Evaluation and Counseling services.
14. Reviews patient's clinical information before certifying and recertifying terminal illness and provides written certification at appropriate levels of care as per standards.
15. Completes and/or ensures Face to Face visits are completed prior to recertifying hospice patients as per standards.
16. Ensures physician and nurse practitioner documentation, billing and coding practices meet established standards.
17. Educates physicians and others engaged in health care services regarding the hospice and palliative care program, admission criteria and potential Hospice benefits to patients.
18. Obtains privileges at one or more hospitals / nursing facilities which provide inpatient services to hospice program patients.
19. Participates in the on-call physician rotation support -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
20. Completes all job duties in a manner that meets the accepted standards of practice and the Evercare Hospice & Palliative Care Policies and Procedures.
21. Works collaboratively in a team approach with Hospice Staff to achieve goals.
22. Contributes to achieving the company's mission.

II. List of Hospice medical director qualifications

1. Provides oversight to the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program and activities.
2. Integrates hospice Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program improvement results in to the established plan of care.
3. Adheres to policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures.

4.      License to practice medicine or osteopathy in the state of the Hospice.

5. Board certification in a primary care specialty, a working knowledge in the principles of palliative medicine and symptom management.
6. Training and experience in the psychological and medical needs of the terminally ill.
7. Knowledge of palliative care with particular emphasis on control of symptoms associated with terminal illness.
8. Ability to work collaboratively with patient's attending physicians to implement the hospice program.
9. Ability to work collaboratively with hospice employees and volunteers as part of an interdisciplinary group.
10. Reliable transportation.
11. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
12. Proficient in business computer skills.

III. Tips to write job description

1. Too-long job description:

Looking at a too-long job description can frighten the candidates off and drive the away. A job description, no matter how important the job is, should not be included in more than 3 pages. If one focuses on too many things at a time, he shall definitely lose focus on the main items and get overwhelmed by the remaining; So, keep it concisely.

2. Too-short job description:

While too-long can be a problem, too-short is more a problem. It will ruin the meaning of the job description. A too-short one means it lacks necessary details and therefore, the candidate will not be able to understand while reading it.

3. Listing unnecessary functions or job duties:

Just classifying these into the “others” category will save you a lot of effort and space. On the other hand, the job description will become more dilute and easy to be neglected.

4. Key functions

Not listing key functions as required for the job can be a fatal mistake to a job description.

5. Grammar and spelling

Poor grammar and having spelling errors can ruin the job description, too. Never think that as you are the employer, you may have the right to make grammar or spelling errors while requires other not to. A job description with such errors is easily to be mistaken as a fake or ghost ads; as a result, the candidate will turn away from it.

6. Not specific enough:

Be specific and concise; if you don’t address the specific, then what the job description is for. It is for the candidate to understand just exactly what he needs to do or needs to have. Lacking details can confuse the candidates very well.

7. Not having the job description reviewed by others:

This is also a common mistake. One may be subject to bias, but more than one, especially with the help of those external advisor, the job description can be more perfect.

8. Using buzzwords or abbreviations:

In fact, it is not necessary at all to use such in a job description.

9. Using slang or legal words:

Just use common wording to communicate with others and don’t do anything extraordinarily.

10. Not updating the job description:

The same job may require different duties and responsibilities in different times, so, you cannot use the same job description for 2 different times.