Mission
or Goal of Unit: The mission of the Virginia Poison Center is to provide rapid, expert, and compassionate help to the public and
health professionals in cases of suspected poison exposures and to provide
public and professional education that reduces poison incidents. The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCU Health) operates the Virginia Poison Center, which opened in 1958 as Virginia’s first poison center. We are nationally accredited as a regional poison center by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. The Virginia Poison Center’s service area includes approximately 3.3 million people and 48 acute care hospitals and urgent care centers. Services are provided to patients of all ages. The Virginia Poison Center handles approximately 30,000 calls per year, and serves as a training site for a Medical Toxicology Fellowship as well as Emergency Medicine residents and residents from other clinical specialties. The Department of Emergency Medicine and
Division of Clinical Toxicology’s mission is to provide unparalleled patient care,
educate, and train emerging leaders in emergency medicine and medical
toxicology and set a national standard for quality and safety metrics by
responding to the changing needs of emergency medicine and toxicology through
innovative research and systems development.
Chief
Purpose of This Position: We are seeking an
enthusiastic and dedicated individual to provide medical direction to the
Virginia Poison Center as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Emergency
Medicine and Division of Clinical Toxicology. The candidate will provide overall
supervision for evaluation and treatment advice provided by the staff of the
Virginia Poison Center (VPC) in the course of their duties. This position
reports to the Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine and Chief, Division
of Clinical Toxicology and collaborates with the Director, Virginia Poison
Center.
Core Position Responsibilities:
- Actively
participate in the inpatient and outpatient care of patients with known or
suspected toxicologic illness.
- Provide
on-call medical back-up for the specialists in poison information, and for
direct consultation with physicians. In their absence, assure that qualified medical or clinical
toxicologists are available for medical back-up on a 24/7 basis.
- Establish
and approve all written VPC guidelines/protocols used in the assessment,
triage and treatment of poison exposures, in collaboration with VPC
Director.
- Provide
for quality assurance assessment of advice and treatment recommended by
the Center, in collaboration with VPC Director.
- Provide
medical toxicology education to healthcare providers. Oversee all professional educational
activities provided by the VPC.
- Coordinate,
with VPC Director, all staff training and educational activities.
- Coordinate
NPDS fatality reporting and abstracts.
- Collaborate
with Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program Director in the supervision and
training of medical toxicology fellows and housestaff on toxicology
rotation.
- Assure
that advice and care provided by VPC staff is appropriate for all patients
of all ages, from newborn to geriatric.
- Devote
at least 50% of professional activities to medical toxicology and meet
AAPCC accreditation criteria (based on human exposure call volume) for
time spent in VPC medical direction.
- For
remaining time not dedicated to the VPC, provide excellent clinical care
by demonstrating proficiency in the evaluation, diagnosis, and management
of a wide range of acute medical and traumatic conditions. Provide
efficient, high quality patient care that reflects current professional
practice norms and skills and is consistent with accepted utilization
guidelines.
- Maintain
a Medical Staff Appointment at VCU Medical Center, a comprehensive
treatment facility for poisoned patients.
Additional Responsibilities
- Coordinate
toxicology journal club activities.
- Develop
and participate in toxicology related research activities.
Participate
in poison prevention education activities. - Act
as primary liaison with the medical community.
- Engage
in impactful research and scholarly activities, generating knowledge and
contributing to advancements in toxicology.
- Work
with the Chair and other stakeholders to develop a plan for strategic
growth and community outreach.
Required
Qualifications:
- Doctor
of Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine degree.
- Board
certification by the medical toxicology subspecialty section of a
certifying ABMS Board (Emergency Medicine, Osteopathic Emergency Medicine,
Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine), or certification by the American Board
of Medical Toxicology (ABMT) is preferred, however, applicants who will be
board eligible by summer 2025 will be considered and are encouraged to
apply.
- Completion
of residency and board-certification in Emergency Medicine. We will consider applicants with
board-certification in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, or a Preventive
Medicine specialty; however, this will be dependent on current clinical
needs within those specialties at VCU Health. Board-certification may be allopathic or
osteopathic.
- Unrestricted
Virginia Medical License, or ability to qualify for one.
- Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Fellowship training in medical toxicology (strongly preferred).
- A minimum of three years’ experience in poison center/clinical toxicology practice management (preferred).
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women,
minorities & persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
ORP Eligible: Yes
Position Type: Faculty Appointment
Full time equivalent: 1.0 FTE
Tenure: Ineligible
Rank:Open
Months: 12
Department: Emergency Medicine - SOM
Salary:Commensurate
Contact Information:
Contact Name: Sharlene Shannon
Contact Email: sharlene.shannon@vcuhealth.org
Contact Phone: 804-828-7738
