Patient Safety Consultant, Quality & Patient Safety

Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health; Halifax; On-site; CAD 65,417,000 - 84,921,000; Full time

Job summary

IWK Health in Halifax seeks a Patient Safety Consultant to lead development and evaluation of patient safety initiatives across the health centre, reporting to the Manager, Patient Safety & Risk.

The role requires nursing qualification, master’s degree, licensure eligibility, and at least five years of clinical experience, with strong leadership, project management and quality improvement skills.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing Program.
• Master’s Degree in a health discipline required. Present enrollment considered.
• Licensed or eligible for licensure by the NS Nursing & Midwifery Regularor.
• Minimum five (5) years relevant clinical experience.
• Experience managing processes and projects.
• Knowledge of quality improvement and patient safety concepts.
• Strong leadership, communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, implementation and evaluation of patient safety initiatives.
• Model best practices for patient safety and risk mitigation.
• Lead teams to ensure compliant patient safety and quality care.
• Provide mentoring for staff and management on quality review processes.
• Engage in research projects and disseminate findings to improve care.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Critical thinking

Time management

Team collaboration

Confidentiality

Interprofessional collaboration

Quality improvement knowledge

Education

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Master's Degree in a health discipline

Licensed or eligible for licensure by NS Nursing & Midwifery

Job description

Req ID: 227858
Department/Program: Quality and Patient Safety , Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience
Location: Halifax
Type of Employment: Temporary Hourly FT long-assignment ( 100% FTE) until 10/26/2028 x 1 position(s)
Start Date: ASAP
Union Status: NSNU Nursing , Nursing Bargaining Unit
Compensation: $ 47.4865 - $ 58.6442 /hour
Closing Date : 16-Oct-26 (Applications are accepted until 23:59 Atlantic Time)

IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia . People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values , and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.

Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.

The Opportunity

The Patient Safety Consultant (PSC) has leadership accountability for the development, implementation and evaluation of patient safety and clinical risk mitigation initiatives that have an impact on care and service provision across the Health Centre. The PSC models, fosters and assumes a leadership role in best practice for patient safety, management of disclosure and adverse events and building capacity in staff and management regarding the same. This position reports directly to the Manager, Patient Safety & Risk.

• - Takes a leadership role in identifying issues, including changes in practices, policies and research, which have potential or actual impact on patient safety and quality care or service provision.
• - Provides leadership in actively seeking out and maintaining an awareness of best practices and changing trends which impact patient safety within the health care system.
• - Provides leadership and support for maintaining service or care when a patient safety incident occurs.
• - Role models and advocates to ensure safe care is provided in a patient/family centered manner. Collaboratively leads teams to ensure compliance with legislative, professional and/or voluntary requirements such as Accreditation including all ROPs, etc.
• - Contributes to the development of professional practice through participation in team, program, organizational and professional activities/committees.
• - Provides leadership, guidance and mentoring to staff and management for the quality review process, including disclosure and ongoing liaising with the patient/family regarding peer review recommendations.
• - Has a leadership role for the implementation and evaluation of the national Safer Healthcare Now patient safety initiatives at the IWK
• - Reviews and investigates patient/parent concerns/issues regarding care and/or staff interactions.
• - Leads, investigates and develops evidence based action plans to address identified risk or patient safety issues.
• - Builds capacity in all levels of the organization for patient safety and risk initiatives, including facilitating formal education sessions (e.g., Quality Review process, , FMEA, ethical decision making, etc.)
• - Contributes to patient safety knowledge at a local, provincial and national level through presentations, i.e., National Patient Safety Week, CAPHC National Patient Safety Collaborative etc.
• - Leads local, provincial and national patient safety initiatives, i.e., surgical safety checklists, medication reconciliation, etc.
• - Leads and/or collaboratively engages in peer consultation to assist with the resolution of clinical or organizational issues related to patient safety.
• - Assists in the development/review of patient/family information brochures, pamphlet and learning materials as they relate to patient safety.
• - Demonstrates commitment to continuous learning through self-evaluation, identification of learning needs and participation in professional development.
• - Demonstrates accountability and assumes responsibility for leadership in setting standards for clinical competence in designated area of practice.
• - Leads and/or participates in research projects, including development of research protocols and REB submissions; disseminates research findings, provides educational assistance relevant to the project and incorporates into practice to improve the outcomes of patient care and service delivery

Hours of Work

Monday-Friday, as per operational requirements.

Your Qualifications

• - Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing Program.
• - Master’s Degree in a health discipline required. Present enrollment in a Master’s Degree program will be considered.
• - Licensed or eligible for licensure by the NS Nursing & Midwifery Regularor is required.
• - Minimum five (5) years relevant and recent clinical experience in a healthcare environment required.
• - Experience managing processes and projects.
• - Research experience preferred.
• - Knowledge and experience with Prospective Analysis (e.g., FMEA), RCA, Patient Safety Incident Analysis, Disclosure, Rapid Cycle and Process Improvements, LEAN in Healthcare environments and/or risk management preferred.
• - Completion of Patient Safety Officers Course considered an asset.
• - Advanced preparation and/or knowledge in quality improvement/patient safety/LEAN initiative, healthcare legislation and risk management concepts and strategies.
• - Demonstrates strong leadership and relationship building skills.
• - Demonstrates critical thinking in problem-solving.
• - Demonstrates a high degree of confidentiality.
• - Excellent time management, organization and prioritization skills.
• - Program development experience.
• - Computer proficiency in data management.
• - Excellent interpersonal, presentation and communication (verbal & written) skills.
• - Ability to develop and lead collaborative, interprofessional teams, as well as the ability to work independently.
• - Demonstrates ability to develop and maintain internal/external partnerships.
• - Demonstrates understanding of and commitment to patient and family centred care.
• - Competencies in other languages considered an asset.

Thank you for your interest in IWK Health.

Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.

This is a Nursing bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.

An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.

I f you are an employee of IWK Health , please apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.