Gastroenterology- Section Chief - Temple University, Office of Physician & Faculty Recruitment

The Department of Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) seeks a dynamic, mission-driven leader for its gastroenterology section.

The ideal candidate is a leader in the field of Gastroenterology and is a person of high character and credibility.  The new Chief must have an exceptional work ethic, be resilient, and possess the enthusiasm to lead a growing section in one of the nation’s largest and most complex and competitive healthcare markets in the country. 

The Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology has a key leadership role within the Department of Medicine, LKSOM. The Chief is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the gastroenterology section through strong clinical expertise, leadership skills, and strategic vision to ensure the delivery of high-quality patient care, effective operations, and continuous improvement initiatives.   The successful candidate must also possess a collaborative mindset and operational expertise to integrate system-wide programs in clinical care, medical education, and scientific exploration.

The ideal candidate will boast a track record of academic excellence, a deep commitment to patient care, proficiency in teaching, and scholarly productivity. Furthermore, the Chief will exhibit exceptional interpersonal and leadership skills alongside a robust foundation in operational leadership experience, focusing on care for underserved patient populations. The Chief will provide leadership and expertise in gastroenterology to ensure the highest standards of patient care. The successful candidate will collaborate within the Temple Health System and with community organizations, healthcare providers, and allied stakeholders to promote digestive health awareness and education and foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and development within the gastroenterology section.

The Chief is tasked with driving the achievement of quality and educational objectives, actively participating in faculty development, and mentoring medical students and post-graduate trainees. The successful candidate will monitor and evaluate clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction metrics to identify areas for improvement and lead quality improvement initiatives to enhance patient care, safety, and outcomes.

The Gastroenterology Section at Temple University Hospital is one of the nation’s most comprehensive centers for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders, covering the full breadth of gastrointestinal diseases and liver disorders. Our large and varied clinical practice takes advantage of the peerless state-of-the-art facilities of our Temple Digestive Disease Center equipped with the latest diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to manage the spectrum of GI diseases. We have a track record of national leadership in motility and therapeutic endoscopy that boast robust research and clinical footprints. In addition to our exceptional clinical programs, we have a deep dedication to the educational mission of training the next generation of leaders in the field.  We offer a three-year categorical fellowship, an advanced endoscopy fellowship, and a motility fellowship that reflects the clinical activities of our faculty.

To learn more about the Section of Gastroenterology, click HERE.

Temple Health is one of Philadelphia's leading academic medical centers, with 20 clinical departments, 8 Basic Science Departments, 13 Research Centers (all of which are engaged in patient care education and research), and more than 1,000 physicians and scientists sharing the mission of bringing innovative treatments to patients.

Reporting Structure/Key Relationships

The Section Chief of Gastroenterology is accountable directly to:

Chair, Medicine, LKSOM

System Chief, Gastroenterology, TUHS

Specific Responsibilities

• Lead the Section of Gastroenterology in the tripartite mission of cutting-edge clinical care, education, and research.
• Ensure a world-class educational experience and mentorship to medical students, residents, and fellows in gastroenterology.
• Work with the Chair of the DOM and System Chief of Gastroenterology to develop faculty-led research efforts.
• Recruit physicians to the Section of Gastroenterology, which embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and focuses on underrepresented groups in medicine.
• Work with the Department Chair, System Chief, and Administrator on the Section's strategic and budgetary plans.
• Promote a strong culture of institutional responsibility, including a commitment to excellent, efficient, and effective business operations and the use of space.
• Encourage and support diversity among the Section's constituents, creating an environment of professionalism, respect, tolerance, and acceptance.
• Promote a culture of engagement, mission, lifelong learning, and professional development among departmental staff.
• Work with the Department Chair, System Chief, and Senior Associate Dean, Office of Faculty Affairs, to define plans for the development of each faculty member,
• Support the promotion of faculty during the promotion process through mentorship, guidance, and advocacy.
• Participate in departmental, School of Medicine, and hospital committees as assigned by the Department Chair and Dean of LKSOM
• Ensure patient-focused, efficient, effective, and safe clinical care.
• Lead quality improvement initiatives to enhance patient care, safety, and outcomes.
• Develop programs that reduce barriers to care amongst the patients served by Temple Health.
• Manage the resources of the Section to ensure sustainable and effective programs.
• Promote community outreach, community feedback, and collaboration with community-based organizations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Possess leadership experience to develop teams, drive vision, and work collaboratively.
• Ability to effect change in a complex academic environment through consensus building, collaboration, organizational programming, effective use of data, delegation of responsibilities, and mission-driven leadership.
• Ability to understand and respect and uphold the highest ethical standards while maintaining the organization's integrity.
• Display a style that fosters and supports change and innovation while maintaining overall control and aspiring to the highest standards.
• Demonstrate sensitivity, tolerance, and compassion for the culture, needs, and aspirations of the Temple community.
• Support and promulgate diversity among faculty, staff, students, and patients.
• Excellent verbal, written, and group presentation skills.
• Proven ability to develop and execute short- and long-term strategic initiatives.
• Skilled at recruiting and retention of staff and faculty, and values the mentoring role to elevate and support others.

Educational Requirements and Minimum Qualifications

This position requires an M.D., D.O., or foreign equivalent. Qualified candidates must be board certified by the ABIM, Gastroenterology Subspecialty and qualified for an academic appointment at the rank of full professor (preferred) in the medical school and have an outstanding clinical care, research, scholarship, and mentoring/education record. Candidates will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills, and a solid and evident commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Lastly, candidates should be active participants in specialty organizations/committees at the regional and national levels and can obtain medical licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Faculty Appointment, Benefits/Compensation

The annual compensation shall be determined based on the experience and qualifications of the individual selected for the position. In addition to a competitive salary, there is a comprehensive suite of benefits – including a generous 403b retirement match, health, dental, vision, life, malpractice, tuition remission, and CME, among others. 

The Organization

Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, and Temple Health

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University is dedicated to excellence in education, research, and patient care, achieved by faculty, staff, and learners who represent and serve its diverse society.

In 2015, the Temple University School of Medicine was renamed the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in honor of Temple alumnus, former trustee, and philanthropist Lewis Katz. The school enjoys a national reputation for training humanistic clinicians and biomedical scientists- a school that values technical excellence and cultural competence through diversity, equity, and inclusion. LKSOM enrolls 220 medical students, 22 graduate students in the biomedical sciences, 35 physician assistant students, and 40 post-baccalaureate students per year.

Katz School of Medicine has 27 basic science and clinical departments, consisting of over 900 full- and part-time faculty, 900 volunteer faculty, and more than 500 additional staff.

With more than 13,000 alumni, LKSOM has trained a significant proportion of the physician base in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware region. Reflecting the excellent quality of a Temple medical education, the MD graduates are highly regarded by competitive residency training programs. They have made significant career contributions to both medical practice and medical research. Many have become department chairpersons, deans, and vice presidents of major academic medical centers.

At Katz, students learn the true art and science of “doctoring.” In addition, the school’s world-class faculty set the pace in key areas of investigation, pushing the boundaries of science to advance patient care.

The Katz School of Medicine home base is a modern, 11-story medical education and research building with state-of-the-art facilities and technologies. The building opened in 2009 and boasts open-air research labs, smart classrooms, and a state-of-the-art anatomy lab. More than half of the space in the building is dedicated to research. With specialized research centers and strengths focused on population health, neuroscience, cancer, metabolic disease, lung disease and inflammation, infectious diseases including HIV, cardiovascular disease, substance addiction, and translational science, Katz conducts investigations to break new ground and trains future generations of researchers to follow suit.

Katz confers the following degrees: MD; PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and MS (Master of Science) in Biomedical Sciences; Physician Assistant MMS (Master of Medical Science); MA (Master of Arts) in Urban Bioethics, the only program in the country; and the dual degrees MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/MA in Urban Bioethics and MD/MBA.

In addition to its Philadelphia campus, Katz has a four-year regional campus in Bethlehem, PA. The St. Luke’s University Health Network-Bethlehem Campus currently provides medical education for 40 medical students each year.

The Katz School of Medicine also provides opportunities for international students through educational affiliation agreements with universities worldwide. Visiting medical students may take up to two rotations within the program and they must be full-time students in their final year of medical school.

Katz has numerous research centers:

• Aging and Cardiovascular Disease Center
• Alzheimer Center at Temple
• Center for Asian Health
• Center for Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Center for Inflammation and Lung Research
• Center for Metabolic Disease Research
• Center for Microbiology and Immunology
• Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing
• Center for Substance Abuse Research
• Center for Urban Bioethics
• Fels Cancer Institute for Personalized Medicine
• The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice
• Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics Research
• Shriners Hospitals Pediatric Research Center
• Sol Sherry Thrombosis Research Center

With its affiliates, Katz has been awarded over $100 million in research grants over the last year, including more than $59 million in NIH funding for LKSOM. Philanthropic support of scholarships - a top priority, along with support for education, patient care, research, and service to the community - averages more than $25 million annually, typically representing a quarter of Temple University’s overall philanthropic revenue.

Temple University

Founded by Russell H. Conwell in 1884, Temple’s official motto - Perseverantia Vincit, or Perseverance Conquers - reflects its students’ drive to succeed and ability to turn opportunities into accomplishments. Conwell’s purpose was “to give education to those who were unable to get it through the usual channels.” In Temple’s earliest incarnation, working-class citizens were taught late in the evening and referred to as “night owls,” giving rise to the school’s mascot and team name.

In 1965, the University became a member of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, one of three state-related, comprehensive research universities in Pennsylvania. In addition to its Main Campus in North Philadelphia, Temple has three additional locations in Philadelphia: Temple University Center City, the Health Sciences Center, also in North Philadelphia, and the School of Podiatric Medicine near Philadelphia’s historic district. Regional campuses are located in Ambler and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with international campuses in Japan and Rome.

Temple’s influence extends around the globe, with longstanding campuses in Tokyo and Rome; programs in London, Beijing, and other locations; nearly 190 institutional collaborations in 43 countries; and more than 350,000 alumni worldwide. High graduation rates, accomplished graduate degree programs, new living and learning facilities and groundbreaking work in science education and research fuel Temple’s momentum. In the latest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Temple is in the “highest research activity” category, or R1, placing it among the top four percent of all four-year institutions in the nation.

Temple had a budget of $3.7 billion in FY2022, including $2.5 billion for the Temple University Health System and $1.2 billion for the University. Approximately 73 percent of the University’s operating budget is derived from tuition and fees, and 13 percent from the Commonwealth appropriation. The remaining budget comes from indirect cost recovery, gifts, auxiliary enterprises, and other sources.

Temple offers 630 academic degree and certificate programs, including 2 associate degree programs, 176 bachelor’s programs, 182 master’s programs, 54 doctoral programs, and 13 professional practice degree programs. Temple is also among the nation’s largest providers of professional education, with approximately 3,800 students enrolled in the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, and podiatric medicine.

Temple University Health System (Temple Health) is a $2.5 billion academic health system dedicated to providing access to quality patient care and supporting excellence in medical education and research. Temple Health includes Temple University Hospital (TUH)-Main Campus; TUH-Episcopal Campus; TUH-Jeanes Campus; TUH-Northeastern Campus; Temple University Hospital – Fox Chase Cancer Center Outpatient Department; TUH-Northeastern Endoscopy Center; The Hospital of Fox Chase Cancer Center, together with The Institute for Cancer Research, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center; Fox Chase Cancer Center Medical Group, Inc., The Hospital of Fox Chase Cancer Center’s physician practice plan; Temple Health – Chestnut Hill Hospital; Temple Transport Team, a ground and air-ambulance company; Temple Physicians, Inc., a network of community-based specialty and primary-care physician practices; and Temple Faculty Practice Plan, Inc., Temple Health’s academic physician practice plan. Temple Health is affiliated with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

Temple Health refers to the health, education, and research activities carried out by its affiliates and the Katz School of Medicine. Temple Health neither provides nor controls the provision of health care. All health care is provided by its member organizations or independent health care providers affiliated with Temple Health member organizations. Each Temple Health member organization is owned and operated pursuant to its governing documents.

TUHS is a progressive and innovative organization. Within the past year, it has earned national and regional accolades for excellence in healthcare. Among these recognitions are the Philadelphia “Employer of Choice” (the only healthcare provider named), Forbes “Best in State”, Healthcare Equality Index Leader, Nursing Magnet, and Leapfrog “A” Safety Grade. These honors speak to the proud team culture of TUHS.

Notable statistics about Temple Health include:

• 979 licensed beds
• 34,283 admissions
• 5 million patient visits
• 180,000 emergency room and urgent care visits
• 22,000 inpatient and outpatient surgeries
• 300 organ transplants
• 2,200 births
• 1,557 physicians
• 980 residents, fellows and grad students
• 41 accredited residency training programs
• 10,000+ faculty members and employees

Temple Faculty Physicians (TFP)

Temple Faculty Physicians is made up of more than 500 dually employed physicians who are the cornerstone of clinical care and teaching for Temple’s healthcare enterprise. These physicians practice in 20 academic departments encompassing every subspecialty in modern medicine.

While remaining committed to serving patients in the North Philadelphia community, Temple Faculty Physicians has expanded its geographic reach beyond Temple University Hospital’s Health Sciences campus in recent years. Today, Temple physicians care for patients in several Temple-affiliated hospitals, in satellite offices in Center City Philadelphia, Fort Washington, PA, Oaks, PA and various other outpatient settings. This expanded reach has brought Temple medical care closer to home for many patients.

A Board of Directors comprised of key physicians and executive leaders of the Temple University Health System and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine governs Temple Faculty Physicians.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Located in the heart of a diverse urban area, the Katz School of Medicine is acutely aware of the impact of the national systemic problems related to the lack of health equity and access to affordable, culturally responsive healthcare. In response, Katz works to address issues that promote health equity through education, care delivery, workforce development, and research. LKSOM recognizes that an environment enriched with persons from varied backgrounds working to address health disparity enhances scholarly work and the development of a culturally aware and responsive healthcare workforce.

The Katz School of Medicine is committed to achieving a climate of inclusion that respects and affirms diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Katz recognizes that excellence in education, training, research, and care delivery is achieved when all students, faculty, staff, community members, and patients experience authentic connection and engagement, feel supported, and are encouraged to participate and contribute to creating health equity.

Procedure for Candidacy

To be considered for this position, you must complete an online application. Your application will not be considered complete until you have submitted all the required documents and information. 

Application materials should include the following: a current curriculum vitae and a comprehensive letter of interest summarizing all relevant experience, leadership accomplishments, and philosophy, clinical, educational, and research interests. LKSOM values diversity and is committed to achieving equity and inclusion within all its programs. Candidates applying for this position are required to provide a statement addressing how they would utilize their experience and knowledge to promote diversity and inclusion at the university and how that commitment would add value to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

Please address your application to David Loren, MD, Professor of Medicine, System Chief, Gastroenterology, TUHS, Search Committee Chairperson, C/O Michael R. Lester, Assistant Dean, Physician/Faculty Recruitment & Retention, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Email: michael.lester@tuhs.temple.edu

Confidential inquiries and candidate nominations should be directed to Michael.lester@tuhs.temple.edu

We are especially interested in qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and under-represented groups. For more information about diversity at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, please visit the Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Temple University is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute through their research, teaching, and/or service to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities.