Overview Reporting to the Manager of Patient Relations, and working collaboratively with leaders and clinical teams across the organization, the Patient Experience Specialist receives, reviews and facilitates the timely resolution of patient and family concerns and feedback regarding their experience at MGH. The Patient Experience Specialist is familiar with the complexities of patient care and the healthcare system and contributes to ongoing initiatives to enhance the MGH culture of patient and family centred care.

Primary Responsibilities

• Facilitates the timely resolution of patient feedback, including complaints, inquires and compliments.
• Acts as an expert resource for and partners with leadership teams and physicians to support their review and resolution of complex patient and family concerns.
• Acts as the primary liaison for patients and families who submit concerns and feedback, ensures they are informed about and involved in the patient relations process and respected as unique individuals with distinct needs.
• Identifies and escalates high risk and quality of care matters as appropriate and works closely with risk management and corporate communications to manage sensitive situations.
• Provides supports to families, and when relevant patients, and clinical teams following a critical incident and attends Incident Determination (disclosure) meetings.
• Collaborates with the Patient Experience team to ensure that trends in patient and family feedback and concerns informs quality improvement initiatives across MGH.
• Participates on relevant hospital committees.

EDUCATION

• Master’s Degree in a healthcare discipline is required.
• Member in good standing of a professional regulatory body is required.
• Additional education in third party facilitation or mediation, alternative dispute resolution and/or conflict resolution is an asset.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of clinical practice in a health discipline with evidence of progressive responsibility that involved conflict resolution and or complaints management is preferred.
• Prior experience as a patient relations or patient experience specialist in a health care setting is an asset.

Skills & Competencies

• Demonstrated understanding of the principles of a hospital-based patient relations process and patient and family centred care.
• Self-directed with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and effectively engage with multiple stakeholders regarding complex issues whilst managing competing priorities.
• Exceptional and demonstrated emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent and demonstrated ability to thinkcritically and to effectively problem solve.
• Excellent and demonstrated facilitation, mediation and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent and demonstrated oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of the complexities of the Ontario healthcare system and familiar with relevant legislation (i.e. the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010, Public Hospitals Act, 1990, Health Care Consent Act, 1996, Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005).
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft office products.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development.
• Excellence attendance record.
• All employees of Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), a division of Toronto East Health Network (TEHN) [formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH)] agree to work within the legislated practices of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario.
• All employees of MGH are responsible to contribute to a transparent culture of patient and staff safety by adhering to and abiding by patient and staff safety policies and procedures set by MGH.
• All employees are accountable for protecting the psychological health and safety of themselves and their co-workers through adherence to MGH's policies and practices.