Patient Experience Specialist

Position Overview

Reporting to the Manager of Patient Experience & Relations, and working collaboratively with leaders and clinical teams across the organization, the Patient Experience Specialist contributes to advancing a culture of patient and family centred care. The Patient Experience Specialist uses their emotional intelligence to support and strengthen the relationship between the patient, their family or designated representative and the healthcare team, by facilitating the timely resolution of their concerns. Familiar with the complexities of patient care and the healthcare system, the Patient Experience Specialist uses data to identify opportunities for improvement, makes recommendations to the organization and helps implement strategies that will enhance the patient experience.

Primary Responsibilities:

Complaint Resolution

• interprets philosophy, policies, procedures and services to patients and families
• facilitates the timely resolution of patient feedback, including inquires, complaints and compliments
• builds trusting relationships across the organization
• is an expert resource for staff, leadership, physicians and volunteers to assist with resolving complex patient and family concerns
• acts as an intermediary for leadership on behalf of patients and their families
• works with individuals or departments to limit or resolve delays in service and communicates delays to patients and families
• works closely with risk management and corporate communications to manage sensitive, or difficult situations
• supports patients, families and teams who have experienced a critical incident and attends the Incident Determination (disclosure) meeting
• works with the patient experience team to ensure the complaints process informs organization quality improvement initiatives
• seeks appropriate candidates for patient stories/videos and supports these candidates through the process
• maintains awareness of best practices and legislation affecting feedback management
• liaise with Ontario Patient Ombudsman Office for timely resolution of cases
• creates patient experience reports for departments, programs and the BOARD, identifying opportunities to influence practices aimed at improving the overall patient experience

Patient and Family Education

• works with clinical and research teams to develop oral and text based forms of communication using health literacy/ plan language principles
• mentors and coaches teams to use teach back as a way of ensuring that health information is understandable and actionable
• identifies and addresses the intended audiences characteristics, needs, and interests when communicating health information
• assesses text based information using readability formulas (SMOG, Flesch Reading Ease)
• Understands and follows commonly accepted standards of grammar, punctuation and style for health literacy (writing like people talk, using a conversational tone)
• develops brochures, posters, promotional materials that advances Patient and Family Centred Care

Advancing a Culture of Patient and Family Centred Care

• Participates in the development and achievement of the Patient Experience Plan and associated projects
• Works in collaboration with the patient experience team to foster a culture that supports continuous improvement through the identification and affective management of patient feedback
• Lead/support improvement projects as identified in collaboration with clinical teams (i.e. family presence, video family visits)
• Mentors staff, leadership, physicians and volunteers on the varied ways to humanize a patient’s experience based on feedback from individual patients and their families
• Works closely with Patient Experience Partners in program and policy development and quality improvement initiatives
• Participates and supports facilitating Patient Experience Panel (PEP) meetings
• Supports and advances the Care Partner program
• Participate on internal and external committees to influence the patient experience agenda (Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC), PEP, Patient Experience Community of Practice)   
• Decision Making
• Classifies patient and family concern as a quality/risk issue and takes appropriate action to resolve concern to patient/family and hospital's satisfaction
• Assesses level of risk to the hospital and refers to Risk Management policies

Education:

- Master’s Degree in a related healthcare discipline.

- Member in good standing of a professional regulatory body.

- Additional education in facilitation, mediation and/or conflict resolution, preferred.

- Education in health promotion, adult education, an asset.

- Education in graphic design, an asset.

- Education in lean methodology or equivalent, an asset.

Experience:

- Minimum 10 years in one or more health disciplines with evidence of progressive responsibility.

- Experience in a patient experience or patient relations role in a health care setting, an asset.

- Experience in the use of lean or other process improvement methodologies, an asset.

- Project management experience, an asset.

- Experience with publishing software such as Photo Shop & Adobe and managing web content, an asset.

- Exemplifies the hospital values of integrity, accountability, compassion and courage.

- Strong understanding of the principles of patient and family centred care.

- Demonstrated ability to apply these principles in day to day interactions.

- Self-directed and able to deal with multiple stakeholders or multiple complex issues while managing multiple priorities.

- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, build strong relationships and maintain partnerships with multiple, diverse stakeholder groups.

- Exceptional interpersonal skills.

- Demonstrated ability to think critically and to problem solve.

- Excellent and demonstrated facilitation, mediation and conflict resolution skills.

- Excellent oral and written communication skills.

- Understanding of the healthcare system and familiar with relevant legislation (i.e. Excellent Care for All Act, Public Hospitals Act, Health Care Consent Act, Personal Health Information Protection Act, The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act).

- Proficient in the use of all Microsoft office products. Knowledge of R/L solutions, an asset.

- Experience with analyzing data and preparing reports.

- Demonstrated success in establishing, leading and maintaining quality improvement initiatives related to improving the patient experience.

- Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor and develop others.

- Experience designing, developing and delivering adult education in different learning environments.

- Experience creating and designing patient education material using health literacy principles.

- 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 legislate 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.