Family Medicine Inpatient Care

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. Eligible candidates will possess or be eligible for full or restricted licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia and have active memberships with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA). 

As a family physician, we know your skills are in high demand - but we are confident a look around our community and hospital will show them to be worthy venues for you to employ them:

Our Hospital

Queens General Hospital, in operation since 1949, is a 22-bed acute care community hospital offering non-ICU level inpatient care and a full-service Emergency Department. In 2014 the facility underwent a massive transformative renovation which modernized existing spaces and created new space for a Collaborative Care wing and the Queens Family Health Primary Care Clinic. Among the most modern community hospitals in Nova Scotia, QGH is the pride of Queens County - a point illustrated by the fact that 90% of the funding for the 2014 renovation was raised locally.

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

To assist in meeting these needs, physicians at QGH have access to a number of visiting consulting services and auxiliary medical team members, including but not limited to:

• General Internal Medicine

• Cardiology

• General Surgery

• Gynecology

• Psychiatry

• Geriatrics

• Palliative Care

• Discharge Planning

• Physiotherapy

• Occupational Therapy

• Pharmacist

• Nutrition/Dietician

• Diabetes Education

• Recreational Therapy

• Respiratory Therapy (on-site twice weekly)

• Wound Care Team (on-site weekly)

• Social Work (on-site weekly)

Your Role with Us

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 QGHHospitalist 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.

● Adhere to all bylaws, rules, and regulations set out by the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

● 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.

Pay and Perks

● 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.

● Teaching opportunities through Dalhousie University (if desired).

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

Our Community

An eighty-minute drive southwest from Halifax, Liverpool is quintessential small-town Canada. On one side of the picturesque Mersey River, you'll find lots of functional amenities, including direct highway access, two large grocery stores, retail storefronts, and the Queens Place Emera Centre, which features a full-size ice rink, fitness centre, and outdoor recreation space boasting a state-of-the-art, professionally designed skate park, splash pad, accessible playground and more (with a new outdoor pool currently under construction).

However, you'll find Liverpool's true charm as you cross its iconic blue bridge spanning the Mersey and enter the walkable historic downtown. A quiet throwback to a simpler time, it boasts a locally-owned bakery, coffee shop, café, pub, craft brewery, boutique shops, salons, two pharmacies, two pizzerias, a florist, museums, and the crown jewel of our downtown: The historic Astor Theatre, where you'll find year-round offerings of live music, theatrical performances, film festivals, and much more.

In addition to all of this, venturing just outside of town opens up another array of amenities: the extensive trail system radiating from Pine Grove Park, under-the-radar surfing spots, multiple white sand beaches, historic lighthouses, two beach resorts, and a number of hidden gem eateries, gift shops, and general stores all lie within a twenty-minute drive of downtown. Wherever your interests lie, the greater Liverpool area has something great to offer.

Physicians here join the rest of their colleagues in Nova Scotia in providing fulflling patient care in an environment that strives to foster a balance between family life, professional development, and community involvement: That's what makes practicing medicine in Nova Scotia unique. You have the opportunity to be part of a team where peer consults are expected and welcomed rather than avoided, and where providing quality patient care to the people we share this beautiful part of the world with is paramount.

If these values resonate with you, we encourage you to join our team and be a part of that mission.

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. 

Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) is committed to being a workforce that is free of discrimination, values diversity and is representative, at all job levels, of the people we serve. Our priority groups are Aboriginal People, African Nova Scotians, Persons with Disabilities and Recent Immigrants. Members of these groups are welcome to apply and self-identify if they wish to be considered under our Employment Equity policy.