Patient Care Department Head

About Eastern Animal Hospital
YOUR DEPENDABLE BALTIMORE ANIMAL HOSPITAL Whether your cat or dog needs simple care or they're in need of complex medical interventions, our practice will be there to provide skilled treatment you can rely on. From routine wellness exams to 24/7 emergency treatment availability, our responsive team aims to provide your pet with the treatments they need right when they need them. At Eastern Animal Hospital, our state-of-the-art facility is fully equipped to handle simple to advanced needs, and we blend extensive experience with a gentle touch to promote your pet's health.

Job Title: Patient Care Department Head

Reports to: Operations Manager

Position Summary:

Under general supervision, will oversee the overall daily management and direction of the hospital related to patient care and medical support/technical services. The individual provides leadership, planning, staff management, patient management, learning & development, as well as operational oversight so that the practice can achieve its goal of providing superior customer service to its clients and excellent medical care to its patients. The individual will work to continuously improve the patient/guest care and client experience in partnership with colleagues and fellow leadership. In addition, the individual will work collaboratively with the hospital management team, doctors, human resources and staff to ensure effective operations. The individual will be responsible for implementing policies and guidelines in accordance with compliance regulations and will have responsibility for patient and client care issues through delegation. This individual must be passionate about the teams they lead through compassion, building strong relationships, and being a servant leader.

The department head works closely with his/her direct reports to ensure there is open communication and accountability. The individual, with his/her direct reports, will manage performance of staff. The individual will be involved in staffing decisions of each division, training, scheduling and review and resolution of personnel scheduling issues when they occur.

Assists with and/or execute other operational and managerial support duties, as assigned.

General Functions:

· Participate in creating and managing the operational organizational structure, and in anticipation of projected growth; establish and direct short and long-term clinical staffing plans; maintains ultimate responsibility for recruitment, negotiations, hiring, evaluating and disciplining employees directly, or through delegation to direct reports

· Collaborate with members of the team, including management staff, department heads, doctors, and other staff to support each other to enhance patient care, client service excellence, safety, training, implementation of best practices, practice growth, cost reduction, productivity, collaboration, and sound fiscal responsibility

· Ensures department is always committed to and working towards hospital goals, vision, and core-values

· Work as a member of the management team to help guide the preparation of short and long-range budgets based on strategic goals and objectives; manage the budgets of the various departments within the facility, and work with staff to achieve expected results

· Maintain the facilities at a high degree of cleanliness and all things shall be in order

· Ensures compliance with local, state and federal laws and regulations (i.e. DEA compliance)

· Attends staff and other meetings

· Is knowledgeable of all current hospital fees, policies, products and services

· Creates, executes, maintains, implements and upholds hospital policies and procedures based on best-practices as well as the hospital’s goals and objectives

· Provides and/or oversees the required training program for all departmental staff

· Through direct leadership and via appropriate delegation, manages patient care and flow

· Ensure all clients’ and patients’ needs are met to an exceptional standard

· Available to discuss, foresee and resolve client, patient and/or staff concerns

· Prepares department personnel work schedules and assignments, makes adjustments, when necessary

· Assists other supervisors or staff when issues arise between departments

· Performs employee evaluations on department staff and direct reports

· Leads personnel by example and through positive influence and motivation

· Provides quality assurance oversight/coordination and inventory support

· Addresses all departmental grievances and resolves them, as necessary

· Ensures that all required forms are used, signed and updated

· All other duties as required/assigned

CONTROLS OVER WORK

The department head must use initiative in carrying out recurring assignments independently without specific instructions while always keeping the hospital and its support team as their priority. Any deviations, problems and unfamiliar situations must be communicated to their supervisor.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Requires a very organized and dependable individual, who can manage multiple tasks at the same time with a great deal of positive energy.

Communication skills are paramount. This person must be willing to go the extra mile and have a “Can Do” attitude.

Requires a detail-oriented person.

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Ability to work independently on assigned tasks as well as to accept direction on given assignments. Understand and carry out oral and written direction.

May be required to work uncommon hours.

Must have fantastic problem-solving skills and enjoy working with people.

Must have diverse knowledge and practical experience in leadership/management as well as policy and legal aspects of the profession/job.

Minimum Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, healthcare administration, management or a relevant field is preferred. Equivalent knowledge, training, experience and education will be considered. High school diploma required.

Required Experience: 3 or more years of proven work experience as a supervisor or manager of a large dynamic team is required. 5-7 years of experience in the animal care/veterinary field is desired.

Other: Must be people oriented

Must be very detail-oriented, process oriented and results driven; must be adaptable/flexible in leading change

Must be able to problem solve and juggle completing deadlines with minimal oversight

Must be able to work independently to problem-solve; must be incredibly self-motivated with a hunger and drive for success

Excellent communication skills - both orally and in writing;

Must have excellent grammar, formatting and spelling skills

Consistently works with co-workers and the public in a courteous and professional manner

Ability to communicate effectively and in a positive manner

Must be humble and willing to accept feedback and development

Ability to architect strategy along with strong leadership skills

Excellent active listening, negotiating and presentation skills

Experience in rallying teams on various shifts in a 24/7 operation to achieve excellence

Must have competence to build and effectively manage interpersonal relationships at all levels of the company

Must have excellent attention to detail and sensitivity to confidential information

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions

Demonstrates organization’s core values in daily interactions with colleagues and works to bring unity and cohesiveness to teams, ad-hoc work groups or task forces, and other interdepartmental collaborations.

Regularly and predictably attend work in-person as scheduled

Works well both in a team environment and independently, but is an excellent team player

Excellent attitude and great work ethic

Must have a high level of emotional intelligence – i.e. demonstrated self-awareness and social skills in a leadership position

Must have demonstrated success in the following areas to include: Leadership of large, dynamic teams; Customer service excellence; Aligning/scheduling resources to meet demand; Recognizing/identifying bottlenecks caused by processes and solving the bottleneck; Conflict resolution; Leveraging diversity; Building group alignment and cooperation to achieve department and company goals; Facilitating teamwork and team commitment; Enthusiasm

Must be someone who listens and acts with integrity, compassion, and a team spirit

Good sense of humor is a huge plus

Manager Competencies
Business Acumen: Understanding how a business works, how it makes money and how the strategies and decisions impact financial, operational and sales results.
Client Centric: Ensuring all practice activities result in the highest level of client satisfaction. Keeping the client, patient, and team members at the center of everything you do.
Decision Making: The ability to make good decisions, solve problems, and decide on important matters is critical. Managers must be able to efficiently gather and analyze relevant data on different issues, evaluate results, and choose decisively between alternatives. They must be able to effectively implement their decisions, initiate action, and measure results.
Critical & Strategic Thinking: Strategic thinking and planning are an essential part of financial forecasting, marketing plans, and long-term plans for growth of the practice. Managers must have the ability to identify questions, problems, and arguments relevant to these issues and to use logic and critical reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions or approaches to problems.
Planning & Priority: The manager has many different job responsibilities, several of which relate to compliance with professional and legal standards and regulations. As a result, managers must be able to organize their work efficiently, set priorities, and establish plans or timetables for achieving goals. They must effectively manage time and workload to meet deadlines.
Continuous Learning: Best practices in management and legal issues are constantly evolving and managers must keep up with these changes. They must demonstrate curiosity for learning and actively seek out new information, technologies, and methods. They must also seek feedback and other opportunities for self-development.
Leadership: Leadership is essential for the human resource tasks of a manager. Effective managers influence and motivate others in the workplace. They take initiative in organizing and coordinating the activities of group members and are successful at mobilizing group effort toward a common goal. Additionally, they are responsible for creating and maintaining a positive culture in the practice.

​​​​​​​Requirements / Qualifications

• Ability to work on weekends when needed
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Previous management experience is required
• Previous veterinary medicine experience is preferred
• Ability to lift patients and carry equipment up to 25 pounds; ability to lift patients or carry equipment over 25 pounds with assistance
• Oversee OSHA safety techniques including use of proper PPE
• Computer skills, MS office applications, etc.
• Basic math and ability to calculate medication dosages
• Strong communication skills to ensure patient safety

Benefits Offered

• Paid time off
• Health insurance; dental insurance; vision insurance
• Retirement benefits or accounts
• Bonus incentive
• Career and professional development
• Employee Assistance Program
• DVM Referral Program

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