Palliative Care Clinical Coach (Central West Ontario Health Team)- Queen Square Family Health Team (Brampton)

Overview

Position title: Palliative Care Clinical Coach (“Clinical Coach”)

Reports to: Queen Square Family Health Team Leadership

Closely liaising with the OH Central Leadership Team responsible for Palliative Care to accomplish implementation goals across a network of partners

About the Central West Ontario Health Team

The Central West Ontario Health Team (CW OHT) is a collaboration of health partners across Brampton, North Etobicoke, West Woodbridge, Malton and Bramalea. As one of the largest OHT’s in the province we serve close to 900,000 people. Together, more than 275 partners including home and community care, acute care, specialty care, primary care, long-term care, mental health and addictions services, patients/clients, community support services, are coming together with the goal of providing better coordinated care for the community.
 

About Queen Square Family Health Team, the Host Organization

Queen Square Family Health Team is dedicated to delivering accessible, equitable, and patient-centered primary care to our local community. Our skilled interdisciplinary team works closely with Queen Square Doctors to provide comprehensive primary care to over 35,000 patients and clients. Through a collaborative, team-based approach, we offer a wide range of programs and services designed to ensure patients and clients receive timely and effective care. As a proud partner of the Central West Ontario Health Team, we actively foster collaborations and partnerships that strengthen the healthcare system and meet the diverse needs of our patients, clients, and team members.

To learn more about our organization and our programs and services, visit our website.

Compensation & Benefits

• 1-year contract position (Until March 31, 2026).
• Eligible for Full Benefits, Defined Benefit Pension Plan (HOOPP), Mileage Reimbursement.
• Potential for secondment opportunity where possible/appropriate.
• Salary Range: $75,000 - $125,000 per annum (1.0 FTE).

Purpose of Position

The CW OHT is recruiting a Clinical Coach to support the implementation of a multi-year palliative care plan alongside the support of a Palliative Care Clinical Lead and Palliative Care Planning Table. The CW OHT will entertain either a full time or part time role, please specify your interest in your application. The role will be focused on improving access to palliative care for marginalized and underserved communities in Malton across acute and community care settings. This role will work closely with Queen Square Family Health Team and WellFort Community Health Services, two CW OHT partners.

Overall, the Clinical Coach is responsible for working with participating community organizations in alignment with 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 patients’ 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

• 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 coach role, along with providing input and reviewing regional progress reports as required.
• 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).
• 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.
• Lead engagement and community-building activities with participating organizations.
• Develop and present materials that express palliative care concepts and implementation plans effectively.
• Provide support to Indigenous communities and organizations for their implementation efforts, as requested by those organizations and, where appropriate, in collaboration with regional partners
• 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.
• 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.
• Guide palliative care quality improvement (QI) and practice change initiatives in participating community and primary care 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 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, RPh) with substantive experience and training in palliative care (e.g., CAPCE). A graduate degree is an asset (e.g., MScN, MSW).
• Minimum 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 health care settings.
• Experience working across health care settings.
• G license and access to a vehicle is required.
• 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 health care needs, within Ontario’s health care 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-centered 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.

Effort- Physical/sensory demands

• Work involves minimal to moderate physical effort normally associated with both office and client-facing environments. There is flexibility to change work activities, take a break or alter work position. 

Working conditions

• Normal office environment as well as work in client-facing environments and / or home visits as a possibility. The home base for this position will be at Queen Square Family Health Team, 366 Main St North, Suite 203, Brampton, ON, L6V 1P8. Travel within the region (Brampton, Malton, North Etobicoke and West Woodbridge) is required.