Adolescent Medicine Specialist - BC Children's Hospital - Vancouver, BC

British Columbia Children’s Hospital (BCCH) cares for the most acutely ill or injured children and youth in BC.   BCCH also provides developmental and rehabilitation services to children and youth throughout BC, and operates a wide number of specialized health programs provided through a number of health services provider groups. As the main pediatrics clinical training site for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC), BCCH is the leading acute care teaching facility in the province, and conducts research to advance health and knowledge through the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR), and collaborations with other institutions.

BCCH is a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) which plans, manages and evaluates specialty and province-wide health care services across BC. Our values reflect our vision to boldly create an equitable, anti-racist and culturally safe health system where everyone thrives, and include: Compassion – Respect – Equity – Courage – Innovation.

The Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine (DAHM) provides ambulatory and inpatient consultation and care at BC Children’s Hospital for adolescents with complex and chronic health conditions including eating disorders, difficulty managing and coping with chronic illness, complex pain and somatic symptoms, behavioural and mental health symptoms in the context of chronic illness, and transition to adult care. The Division’s vision is to provide holistic and strengths-based care for the youth of BC and their caregivers, so that youth feel seen, safe, supported, and connected.

The Division delivers subspecialty pediatric expertise to a multi-disciplinary inpatient and outpatient specialized eating disorders program for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. The Division medical staff provide care as most responsible providers (including on-call service) for adolescents admitted to the pediatric acute medical ward with medical instability due to eating disorders and acute substance use overdose and withdrawal management, as well as consultation for adolescents with other complex biopsychosocial challenges such as complex pain and somatic symptoms. In addition, the Division medical staff are involved in the RICHER (Responsive, Intersectoral, Child Health Education, and Research) social pediatrics initiative to address health concerns of youth disproportionately affected by structural marginalization.

The Division also operates one of only four Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) accredited Adolescent Medicine Subspecialty Residency (Fellowship) Programs. The Division is responsible for training UBC general pediatrics residents on the required adolescent medicine rotation, as well as UBC medical students in classroom and clinical settings. The Division includes collaborative academic research faculty from the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia. The Division is closely associated with the McCreary Centre Society, a non-profit research institute that conducts a unique and influential periodic Province-wide BC Adolescent Health Survey to study adolescent health risk and protective factors in British Columbia, including analyses of conditions of specific vulnerable youth populations.

Members of the Division are highly values-driven, and aspire to provide holistic, strength-based, equitable, youth-centered care. We are committed to excellence in clinical care and teaching, improving access to care and equity for youth and families impacted by structural marginalization, and fostering positive youth development among adolescents. The Division is highly collaborative within the team as well as with our partners in the hospital and the community.

There are excellent opportunities to develop clinical and/or population health research projects. As a provincial resource, the Division works to support best practice, innovation, and advocacy in the care of youth throughout British Columbia and beyond.

DIVISION OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH AND MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
BC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

VANCOUVER, BC CANADA

Adolescent Medicine Specialist

1.0 FTE (Full Time Equivalents, Regular Ongoing)

This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified Adolescent Medicine Specialist interested in clinical care of adolescents with eating disorders, substance use and concurrent disorders, complex pain and somatic symptoms, gender-affirming care, and other complex biopsychosocial problems, social determinants of health, and medical education. The physician’s clinical assignments will be a mix of Adolescent Medicine inpatient service on the acute pediatric medical wards, the Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for adolescents with complex eating disorders, and the Adolescent Health Clinic, which is a teaching subspecialty referral clinic for adolescents with complex chronic medical and biopsychosocial challenges including mental health and substance use disorders. There are opportunities for collaboration with allied subspecialty clinics.

The ideal candidate will find affinity with the values of the Division as described above, and will have strong clinical and teaching skills as well as strong interpersonal and interprofessional collaboration skills to be able to contribute to the Division’s strong team approach.

The successful candidate for this position will have passed or be eligible for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada examinations in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and will be eligible for a specialty medical license as determined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.

The anticipated start date is July 1, 2025 (negotiable).

Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. Interested individuals should submit their most current CV, cover letter and names of three references as soon as possible to:

Dzung X. Vo, MD, FAAP, FSAHM

Head, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital

Director, BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Mindfulness

Clinical Associate Professor, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

email: dvo@cw.bc.ca

Tel: 604-875-2970

PHSA, UBC and BCCH are committed to employment equity, encouraging all qualified individuals to apply. We recognize that our ability to provide the best care for our diverse patient populations relies on a rich diversity of skills, knowledge, background and experience, and value a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates specialized health services with the BC health authorities to provide equitable and cost-effective health care for people throughout the province. Our values reflect our commitment to excellence and include: Respect people – Be compassionate – Dare to innovate – Cultivate partnerships – Serve with purpose.

Learn more about PHSA and our programs: jobs.phsa.ca/programs-and-services

PHSA and BC Children's Hospital is committed to equity in our hiring and employment practices. With learning and compassion, we are addressing existing inequities and barriers throughout our systems. PHSA is seeking to create a diverse workforce and to establish an inclusive and culturally safe environment. We invite applications and enquiries from all people, particularly those belonging to the historically, systemically, and/or persistently marginalized groups identified under the B.C. Human Rights Code.

One of PHSA’s North Star priorities is to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism, which includes dismantling barriers to health care employment at every level. We welcome Indigenous individuals to apply and/or contact the Sanya'kula Team (Indigenous Recruitment & Employee Experience) for support at indigenous.employment@phsa.ca.

Indigenous-specific anti-racism initiatives are rooted in addressing the unique forms of discrimination, historical and ongoing injustices, and marginalization faced by Indigenous peoples. These initiatives align with an Indigenous rights-based approach, recognizing the inherent rights and self-determination of Indigenous communities. PHSA must uphold legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents such as including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study.