Location: Gainesville, FL
Institution: University of Florida
The University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is recruiting a passionate veterinary leader to serve as the Director of Inpatients and Emergency and Critical Care for the UF Small Animal Hospital. This leadership position will report to the Associate Dean of Clinical Services. UF is looking for a leader committed to delivering excellent patient/client-centric care in a 24/7 referral hospital. The Director will be responsible for the technical staff in the small animal hospital’s ICU, Progressive Care, Emergency Room, and Blood Bank. The Director provides administrative supervision over three main areas which exceed $7 million in revenue and a team of 92 FTE veterinary technical staff. Rank and salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience of the candidate.
The College of Veterinary Medicine is part of the University of Florida Health Science Center which houses six health related colleges (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health & Health Professions, and Veterinary Medicine). It is the only health science center in the southeast, and one of only three nationally, where all six colleges of health are located on the same campus. The CVM has equally strong ties to the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Together, these alliances create opportunities for vibrant research collaborations, academic depth in Artificial Intelligence and a robust human clinical enterprise which has aided the UF Veterinary Hospital system to be a leader in veterinary medical care. The campus is in Gainesville, a vibrant and growing community that has numerous cultural amenities in a setting with great natural beauty (see http://www.visitgainesville.com/arts-culture-history/).
The UF has the largest small animal caseload in veterinary academic medicine with 20 specialty services, 90 small animal clinicians, 96 small animal house officers, 235 small animal clinical support staff and 65,500 small animal patients in FY24. The hospital in Gainesville is a Level 1 Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society (VECCS) certified facility and an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredited hospital. The UF Veterinary Hospital (UFVH) has a $59.6M annual operating budget. The UFVH supports a growing Clinical Trials program, a unique small animal open heart surgery program, and the most sophisticated and integrated Patient Quality and Safety program in veterinary medicine.
Specific activities for which the Director will have primary or shared responsibilities include
- Leadership – The Director will advance the vision of the UF Veterinary Hospital’s (UFVH) patient/client-centered care model, providing the capstone learning environment for the DVM students and house officers. The Director will build a culture of trust among the UFVH employees, demonstrating initiative to build and maintain a vibrant work environment that supports the well-being of the staff, learners and clinicians. In concert with service leaders, the Director will recommend future planning and strategic goals for the ICU, PCW and ER.
- Personnel Management– The Director will oversee the veterinary managers, technicians, and assistants who provide inpatient care, emergency care and run the blood bank. This includes recruitment, engagement and retention of veterinary technical staff. The Director will advise managers and supervisors on hiring, orientation, performance appraisals and human resource issues. The Director will develop, implement, and maintain an effective orientation program for new employees, including orientation to the facility, hospital policies and procedures, and his/her job duties. The Director will work closely with the management team to ensure staff comply with current policies and procedures. The Director will develop active recruitment strategies to attract veterinary technicians to the small animal hospital and innovate retention strategies for current employees. The Director will maintain data on the ICU, PCW and ER workforce hires, training status and annual turnover rates.
- Operational Management – The Director will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the inpatient areas, emergency and critical care, and blood bank. This includes but is not limited to ensuring proper staffing for optimal patient care; communication throughout the hospital on staffing pressures related to patient care; clinicians and staff are informed of changes and issues; facilities and equipment are in working order; and charges are accurate and submitted on time. The Director will work with the Director of Administration & Finance, CFO, Associate Director of Operations and Service Chiefs to ensure the success of the units. This will include oversight of budgets, business plans, and equipment repairs and purchases. The Director will serve on hospital committees including Policy and Procedures and Small Animal Infection Control. The Director will assist in orientation and onboarding involving faculty, staff, house officers and students. The Director will create, review, and update hospital policies and procedures and assist in interpreting college, university, state, and federal rules and regulations pertaining to the hospital. The Director will review and approve administrative subsidies and legal issues for the ICU, PCW and ER patients. The Director will maintain UFVH’s status as a VECCS-certified level 1 facility.
- Delivery of Patient Care and Customer Service–The Director is responsible for upholding the medical quality and standards in all inpatient areas of the small animal hospital. The Director will serve on the patient quality and safety team and work directly with the Chief Medical Officer and Service Chiefs to optimize patient medical care. This includes developing a “Just Culture” throughout the ICU, PCW and Emergency Room, managing patient incident reports, and participating in Root Cause Analysis (RCA). The Director is responsible for ensuring the hospital provides excellent customer service. This includes outstanding communication between clinicians, staff, students and clients. The staff are expected to be friendly, supportive, and helpful. The Director should keep updated with new products, medical protocols, and technology to advance patient care.
- Educational Activities – The Director is responsible for technician skill development, classification of veterinary technicians and their career development, mentorship, and leadership training. The Director is responsible for the development and execution of recruitment programs such as the Veterinary Technician Internship program or other pipeline programs. The Director should organize regular in-house continuing education events for staff to provide the most up-to-date medical care.
Qualifications
- Applicants must have a DVM (or equivalent) and should have 5 or more years of professional experience in veterinary medicine or specialty practice.
- Experience in hospital management, training veterinary technicians or small animal emergency care is preferred but not required.
- Applicants must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, a solid foundation in building a collaborative and transparent work environment and demonstrated experience in conflict resolution and team building.
- The successful candidate will have an academic appointment as an Assistant, Associate or Full Professor (Clinical Track) in the UF CVM and will be able to develop a 10-20% effort for scholarly activity, clinical service, or participating in professional DVM student education. Potential areas for the academic assignment will be defined through negotiations with the Dean.
All applicants must apply online through Careers at UF in order to be considered for the position. Applications for job number 533207 must submit (1) a cover letter including a statement of the applicant’s leadership philosophy, articulated vision and how the candidate’s experience supports that vision (2) a curriculum vitae; and (3) the names and contact information of three professional references. Email inquiries to Dr. Travis Lanaux, Search Committee Chair lanaux@ufl.edu are welcome; however, for full consideration, applications must be submitted online at https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/533207/director-of-veterinary-inpatients-and-emergency-and-critical-care. Applications must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date. Review of applications will begin on October 7, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled.
The successful candidate will be required to provide official transcript(s) upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/.
The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352/392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800/955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Law.