Missionor Goal of Unit: The mission of the Virginia Poison Center is to provide rapid, expert, and compassionate help to the public andhealth professionals in cases of suspected poison exposures and to providepublic 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 andDivision of Clinical Toxicology’s mission is to provide unparalleled patient care,educate, and train emerging leaders in emergency medicine and medicaltoxicology and set a national standard for quality and safety metrics byresponding to the changing needs of emergency medicine and toxicology throughinnovative research and systems development.
ChiefPurpose of This Position: We are seeking anenthusiastic and dedicated individual to provide medical direction to theVirginia Poison Center as a full-time faculty member in the Department of EmergencyMedicine and Division of Clinical Toxicology. The candidate will provide overallsupervision for evaluation and treatment advice provided by the staff of theVirginia Poison Center (VPC) in the course of their duties. This positionreports to the Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine and Chief, Divisionof Clinical Toxicology and collaborates with the Director, Virginia PoisonCenter.
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.
RequiredQualifications:
- 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
