Palliative Care Clinical Coach

POSITION

Palliative Care Clinical Coach

One-year contract with the possibility of extension

Full time

Hybrid

ORGANIZATION

Dorothy Ley Hospice

LOCATION

Etobicoke, Ontario

REPORTS TO

Tracey Human, Director Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Consultation Program, Dorothy Ley Hospice

Closely liaising with the Ontario Health (OH) Toronto Region Implementation Team responsible for Palliative Care to accomplish implementation goals

About the Host Organization

The Dorothy Ley Hospice as the host organization for this program in the Etobicoke, West and North Western Toronto area has been providing hospice palliative care for over 35 years. The Hospice offers hospice palliative care in a 12-bed residence and in the community. Our goal is to enable individuals to live their lives to the fullest in comfort, with dignity, meaning and hope. The Hospice also offers hospice palliative care education for the public and community providers. Last year, Hospice staff and its more than 200 trained volunteers served over 2,500 individuals.

About the position

The Clinical Coach is responsible for working with participating community organizations in alignment with the provincial direction established by Ontario Health and guidance developed by the Ontario Palliative Care Network. The Clinical Coach will drive practice change, with a focus on improving access to and quality of clinical care, aligned to the Palliative Care Health Services Delivery Framework in the Community ("The Delivery Framework") and the Ontario Palliative Care Competency Framework.

The Clinical Coach will:

• Provide palliative care coaching and mentoring to staff and clinicians in participating community organizations, to build primary-level palliative care competencies.
• Collaborate with leaders of community organizations on local service integration, and change management initiatives, using quality improvement methodologies to achieve results.
• Consult on clinical care when the complexity of the patient’s needs is beyond the existing competencies of providers (in the community organizations).
• Provide support to Indigenous communities and Indigenous organizations for their implementation efforts, where Indigenous communities wish to be involved, in collaboration with regional partners.

Key Responsibilities

1. Co-create the regional Delivery Framework implementation plan with Ontario Health, including required measurement and reporting.

• Attend all regional planning meetings and contribute to the regional palliative care implementation plan, especially plans for education and practice change.
• Keep comprehensive records and support data collection for measurement and reporting.
• Provide feedback on key learnings related to the coach role, along with providing input and reviewing regional progress reports as required.

2. Foster regional collaboration and contribute to broader system integration.

• Develop relationships with key partners to establish trust, credibility, and respect.
• Clearly articulate key messages that resonate across different partner groups and audiences.
• Update the regional implementation team on challenges and opportunities in the community.
• Support Ontario Health Team planning and/or implementation of palliative models of care (where there is readiness).

3. Ensure alignment of community implementation with the guidance of the Ontario Palliative Care Network

• Participate in relevant provincial level committees, working groups and task forces.
• Support the regional advisory groups and subject matter experts who provide clinical leadership.

4. Lead engagement and community-building activities with participating organizations.

• Develop and present materials that express palliative care concepts and implementation plans effectively.

5. Provide support to Indigenous communities and organizations for their implementation efforts, as requested by those organizations and, where appropriate, in collaboration with regional partners

6. Critically evaluate the quality of palliative care in participating community organizations.

• Collaborate with leadership teams from participating community organizations to identify strengths and gaps in the palliative care they currently provide and in the relevant provider policies and practice documents.
• Guide the creation of a quality improvement plan to address gaps.

7. Build competency amongst front-line community providers in the delivery of primary-level palliative care.

• Promote/provide palliative care education in participating community organizations, aligned to the Ontario Palliative Care Competency Framework.
• Provide informal, case-based educational opportunities (coaching) for health service providers in community organizations, incorporating principles of adult learning.
• Provide palliative care mentoring for health service providers in the community.
• Complement the work of educational organizations, such as Ontario CLRI and Pallium Canada.

8. Guide palliative care quality improvement (QI) and practice change initiatives in participating community organizations.

• Assist with quality improvement initiatives to implement the Delivery Framework (with an initial emphasis on the prioritized recommendations) by:

° Encouraging the application of QI to improve patient care.

° Building internal and external relationships, to enhance communication among all staff.

° Tracking and evaluating progress.

° Sustaining best practice by updating policies and procedures.

• Works closely with regional partners, including equity-deserving populations, to ensure implementation of the model addresses barriers to access to care for priority populations

9. Consult on clinical care

• Offer consultation as a palliative care expert to service providers in person, onsite, by telephone, by videoconference or through email.
• Provide limited and occasional direct patient care

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• A degree in a registered health care discipline (e.g., RN, RSW, NP) with substantive experience and training in palliative care (e.g., CAPCE). A graduate degree is an asset (e.g., MScN, MSW).
• Minimum of five (5) years’ experience in practice in palliative care is required.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and reporting requirements, including the Fixing Long-Term Care Homes Act, the Excellent Care for All Act and the Compassionate Care Act and other pertinent legislation and regulations related to professional practice is required.
• Experience supervising clinical staff is preferred.
• Experience working with large-scale quality improvement initiatives.
• Additional training in gerontology and project management experience are assets.
• Strong clinical coaching and debriefing skills, with both individuals and teams.
• Strong consultation skills, with expert knowledge of models of consultation and their application with individual, team and community service providers.
• Research and/or program evaluation experience with knowledge of evidence-based processes, including appraisal of research, application of findings and collaboration on research.
• Experience working with a range of roles, disciplines, and levels of staff in different healthcare settings.
• Experience working across healthcare settings.
• Fluency in French and/or another language is an asset.

Knowledge and skills

• A commitment to developing equity-based, evidence-informed approaches for delivering palliative care services for all people in Ontario, regardless of their age or illness.
• A good understanding of regional priorities and local healthcare needs, within Ontario’s healthcare landscape.
• Ability to work well under pressure and use good judgment in assessing difficult situations.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Aptitude for proactive problem solving, using strong critical thinking, and negotiating skills.
• A demonstrated ability to develop, deliver and evaluate training and coaching efforts.
• An ability to develop relationships based on trust, compassion, and empathy.
• Strong active listening and interpersonal communication skills for one-on-one coaching.
• Experience designing education to effectively address palliative care training needs of interprofessional learners.
• Excellent communication skills and experience with culturally responsive teaching
• A demonstrated focus on person-centred care.
• Supports the advancement of equity, inclusion, and diversity across Ontario's health care system.
• Commitment to engage with First Nations, Indigenous, Métis and urban Indigenous people as they self-determine their own approach to palliative care.
• Proficiency in educational technologies (e.g., webinars, apps) as well as knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Access to reliable and efficient mode(s) of transportation to enable travel between community organizations.

Travel Requirements

Travel within the Ontario Health Toronto Region or the assigned geographic catchment area is required.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit in electronic format a cover letter and their resume, to Human Resources at Dorothy Ley Hospice (hr@dlhospice.org). We appreciate all applications received; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Deadline to apply: February 21, 2025

The Dorothy Ley Hospice is committed to building an inclusive environment and will provide accommodations in accordance with the AODA – Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Please indicate in your application any accommodations you will require throughout the recruitment process. Alternatively, please contact Edna Mbugua at 416-626-0116 extension 222.

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Etobicoke, ON

Application deadline: 2025-02-21
Expected start date: 2025-04-01