Chief Medical Officer

About the role

Position Overview: The Chief Medical Officer is responsible for the overall medical integrity of Northwestern Medical Center's inpatient and outpatient services, ensuring patients receive exceptional care and service throughout the continuum of care. As a trusted leader and physician advocate, the CMO serves as a liaison between the Medical Staff and hospital leadership, fostering collaboration, engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement. The successful candidate will champion clinical quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance, medical staff development, physician recruitment and retention, and a culture of excellence across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Medical Staff Leadership & Governance: Partners with the Medical Staff Office in support of the independent Medical Staff structure and its officers and chiefs; attends and participates in meetings of the Medical Staff, Medical Executive Committee, Credentialing Committee, Ethics Committee, Bylaws Committee, Peer Review Committee, and applicable service line meetings; supports Medical Staff officers and department chiefs in fulfilling their leadership responsibilities; ensures effective processes exist for physician onboarding, credentialing, FPPE, OPPE, and peer review activities; works collaboratively with Medical Staff Officer team, Medical Staff leaders, and legal counsel regarding physician behavioral, quality, and patient safety concerns.
• Quality, Patient Safety & Regulatory Compliance: Is or becomes knowledgeable regarding implications to patient care and hospital success relating to quality improvement, risk, patient safety, risk management, utilization review, patient relations, and clinical documentation integrity initiatives; champions and recruits champions from within Medical staff to inform and ensure engagement of the Medical Staff in quality improvement, risk, patient safety, risk management, utilization review, patient relations, and clinical documentation integrity initiatives; promotes physician participation in organizational quality and safety efforts; monitors key clinical quality indicators and supports action plans to address as needed; ensures physician engagement in achieving regulatory and accreditation requirements.
• Clinical Leadership: Provides leadership and direction to Medical Directors; promotes collaboration among physicians, advanced practice providers, nursing leadership, and operational leaders; serves as a liaison for the Medical Staff in their function within hospital departments, practices, and units: helping communicate hospital direction, initiatives, and strategy; sharing Medical Staff perspectives and input with Senior Leadership; and fostering Medical Staff engagement in improvement efforts, issue resolution, and cultural alignment.
• Organizational Leadership: Participates in strategic planning and organizational decision-making; collaborates with senior leaders to achieve organizational goals and objectives; supports cultural alignment, physician engagement, and organizational effectiveness initiatives; contributes to the hospital's long-term success and sustainability.
• Physician Recruitment & Retention: Participates in physician workforce planning initiatives; supports recruitment, selection, onboarding, and retention of physicians and advanced practice providers; promotes physician engagement, effective performance, and professional satisfaction; helps develop strategies to attract and retain high-quality medical talent.

Qualifications

• Education: Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree from an accredited medical school; Board Certification in a recognized medical specialty.
• Experience: Five (5) years or more of clinical practice experience preferred; Physician leadership experience required, preferably within a hospital or integrated healthcare system; Demonstrated experience working with quality improvement initiatives, medical staff governance, and hospital operations preferred.
• Other Skills: Excellent communication, relationship-building, leadership, and conflict-resolution skills; Strong understanding of hospital and clinic operations, quality, patient safety, risk management, and regulatory compliance or a willingness and plan to learn to create a strong understanding; Demonstrated ability to build physician engagement and foster collaboration across disciplines.
• Certifications: Current unrestricted physician license, or eligibility for licensure, in the State of Vermont; Current DEA registration, as applicable.

Why Northwestern Medical Center?

Northwestern Medical Center is deeply committed to providing exceptional healthcare services to the communities it serves. As CMO, you will have the opportunity to influence clinical strategy, strengthen physician engagement, improve patient outcomes, and help shape the future of healthcare delivery in northern Vermont. If you are a physician leader passionate about clinical excellence, collaboration, physician engagement, and community healthcare, we welcome the opportunity to speak with you.