The Alex seeks a part-time physician 

Physician
Housing First Clinic
Permanent | Part-time

What we do and why we do it:

The Housing First Clinic at the Alex provides patient care to persons with significant physical and/or mental health issues, experiencing unstable housing/ homelessness, and substance use. Patient care is provided through appointment, drop-in, and outreach-based family practice in a non-judgemental, harm-reduction focused, holistic manner. Outreach is provided through home visits as needed and through scheduled visits to various harm reduction place based supportive housing (PBSH) buildings in the city. Patients are supported with housing resources and rapid access to a myriad of supports to encourage stability and improved quality of life.

Working alongside multidisciplinary team members (including psychiatrists, RNs, OT and mental health support workers, etc.), physicians are required to understand the social determinants of health as they pertain to marginalised and underserved populations, and to provide full-scope medical care with a trauma-informed and harm reduction perspective.
Reimbursement is via alternative-relationship plan (ARP); physicians are expected to participate in team-based, multidisciplinary care. This is a permanent, 0.4 FTE position.

What you will do:

• Full scope family practice: patients are over 18 years of age.
• Attend outreach visits weekly to PBSH buildings in an outpatient setting; these buildings are supported by on-site RNs.
• Knowledge and comfort with at least one mode of opioid agonist therapy is required
• Special skill sets are encouraged and preferred (i.e., transgender medicine, simple procedures, IUD insertions, emergency/urgent care, mental health, etc.)
• Feel comfortable in completing a Form 1, as required
• Complete community treatment order (CTO) assessments along with psychiatrists
• Respond to acute concerns as appropriate for a family physician in an outpatient setting (i.e., erratic behaviour, drug overdoses, active suicidality).
• Work effectively and collaboratively with nurses, mental health providers, social workers, participant resource specialists, pharmacy, etc.
• Flexibility in regard to patient scheduling for same-day, drop-in, or outreach appointments
• As appropriate, support Alex-based research and evaluations initiatives to support organisational theory of change and clinical practice
• Be accountable to ARP billing processes, including complete shadow billing for direct and indirect client care via EMR processes
• Attend primary care provider meetings and clinic rounds regularly
• Assist with data collection and entry as directed

What you will bring:

• Member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
• Appropriate medical liability insurance coverage (i.e., CMPA or equivalent)
• Affiliation with a PCN or willingness to join a PCN.
• Prior experience working with addiction medicine and marginalised populations (e.g., homeless serving sector, refugee health, remote outreach medicine, or similar)
• Ability to manage medical IT systems – EMR, Netcare, medical references
• Current First Aid is mandatory
• A satisfactory vulnerable sector criminal record clearance and a child welfare intervention check are required
• Knowledge of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC) 94 Calls to Action is an asset
• Willingness to work within anti-racist and anti-oppressive frameworks and actively engage in ongoing learning about these frameworks.

Working Environment:
This position will work 14 hours/week at The Alex’s Community Health Centre and in the community at the Placed Based Supportive Housing (PBSH) buildings (open 0930-1630). Physicians at the Alex may expect:

• The ability to practise comprehensive medicine in an ARP-billing environment; appointments are shadow-billed to Alberta Health via a combination of SOMB and ARP-specific codes, however, are generally more in-depth than a comparative fee-for-service medical practice
• Administrative support – patient panel management, management of daily appointment flow through clinic (including bookings, confirmations, rooming, appropriate diagnostics and investigations), facilitation of referrals, and other services
• Integrated medical practice with nursing and other onsite allied health, including pharmacy, dental services, mental health therapy, diabetes educators, dietitian.
• Onsite laboratory (phlebotomy)
• Collaborative approach with social resource team to work with clients facing socioeconomic barriers

How to apply:

This position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. We will make every effort to accommodate candidate’s schedules and needs in all parts of the hiring process.
The Alex is committed to embedding the principles of equity, inclusion, and diversity across the organisation. We are committed to removing barriers to employment that are faced by equity-seeking groups and encourage (but not require) members of these groups to self-identify as such in their cover letters.
thealex.ca