Sprott Patient Education Specialist

University Health Network; Toronto; On-site; CAD 58,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

HOOPP pension plan

Flexible work environment

Development opportunities

Employee discounts

Job summary

University Health Network (UHN) seeks a Patient Education Specialist to lead planning for a centralized surgical education hub. You will map current materials, engage diverse stakeholders, and define a future-state model aligned with UHN’s digital strategy and health literacy standards.

The role emphasizes collaboration with clinical teams, patients, and leadership to deliver standardized, accessible patient education across the surgical journey.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in health sciences, health promotion, education, communications, or related field.
• Master’s degree in related discipline preferred.
• 3–5 years of healthcare experience in patient education, QI, project management, or digital health.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning for a centralized surgical patient education hub.
• Conduct a Sprott-wide inventory of education materials and workflows.
• Identify gaps and opportunities for standardization across divisions.
• Engage clinical teams, patients, and stakeholders to inform design.
• Develop future-state model aligned with health literacy standards and digital strategy.
• Prepare reports and an implementation roadmap for leadership.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Health literacy

Project management

Written communication

Adult learning principles

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences/related

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Epic patient-facing tools

Job description

UHN is Canada’s #1 hospital and the world’s #1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.

UHN’s vision is to build A Healthier World and it’s only because of the talented and dedicated people who work here that we are continually bringing that vision closer to reality.

www.uhn.ca

Union: Non-Union
New or Replacement Position: New
Site: Toronto General Hospital/Toronto Western Hospital
Department: Sprott Department of Surgery
Reports to: Director, Transformation & Quality
Salary Range: $41.96 - $52.45 per hour
Hours: 37.5 Hours per Week
Status: Temporary Full-Time (Contract End Date - March 31, 2027)
Closing Date: November 5, 2026

Position Summary

Together, the Sprott Surgery Program and the Department of Anesthesia & Pain Management make up the largest comprehensive surgical program in Canada across 13 divisions. With a vision of being “World Leaders in Surgery,” Sprott Surgery is committed to improving quality, safety, patient experience, and outcomes across the full surgical journey.

As Sprott Surgery advances its commitment to delivering a seamless, patient-centred surgical experience, there is a significant opportunity to enhance how surgical education is designed, delivered, and maintained across the patient journey. With planned digital advancements, including the UHN website redevelopment and enhanced patient-facing tools aligned with Epic, this role will help establish a standardized, accessible, and sustainable approach to surgical patient education.

Reporting to the Lead of Transformation, the Patient Education Specialist will lead the foundational planning work required to support a centralized Surgical Patient Education Hub. The role will conduct a Sprott-wide current state assessment, complete a gap analysis, engage key stakeholders, and develop a future-state model and implementation roadmap aligned with UHN’s patient education and health literacy standards, digital strategy, and the UHN Surgery Strategic Action Plan priority of reimagining the surgical care experience.

Duties

The Patient Education Specialist will lead the planning and design work for a centralized approach to surgical patient education through the following accountabilities:

• Conduct a comprehensive Sprott-wide inventory of existing surgical patient education materials, resources, delivery channels, platforms & workflows
• Assess current state practices to identify variation, duplication, gaps, accessibility considerations, and opportunities for standardization across surgical divisions
• Identify gaps across the patient journey (pre-operative, peri-operative, post-operative) – and identify preferred means of patient education (i.e., utilization of After Visit Summaries, care companion, and teach back)
• Engage clinical teams, patients and/or patient partners, operational leaders, communications, digital, and patient education stakeholders to inform future‑state design requirements
• Apply best practices related to health literacy, accessibility, equity, inclusive language, plain language communication, patient engagement, and adult learning principles
• Develop a future‑state model for a centralized Surgical Patient Education Hub aligned with UHN patient education & literacy standards, and UHN Digital and website strategy
• Prepare concise reports, presentations, and recommendations for leadership and associated committees / stakeholders to support decision‑making and readiness for implementation
• Produce an implementation roadmap, including governance, content standards, and sustainability plan

Qualifications

• Completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences, Health Promotion, Education, Communications, Healthcare Administration, QI, or related field
• Master’s degree in related discipline preferred
• Minimum 3-5 years of related experience in healthcare, preferably in patient education, QI, project management, clinical transformation, digital health, or healthcare communications
• Experience conducting current state assessments, gap analyses, process reviews, evaluations, or implementation planning in a healthcare environment
• Knowledge of health literacy and adult learning principles
• Experience engaging and facilitating input from diverse stakeholders, including clinical teams, patients, operational leaders, and communications/digital partners
• Experience working with patient education materials, digital content, content management processes, or patient‑facing health applications is an asset
• Knowledge of Epic patient‑facing tools, After Visit Summary workflows, or related digital health functionality is an asset
• Strong organizational, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, with ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, and work effectively in a complex, fast‑paced healthcare environment
• A demonstrated commitment to achieving results through collaboration, in keeping with the vision, mission, and values of the organization

Why join UHN?

In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.

• Competitive offer packages
• Government organization and a member of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP https://hoopp.com/)
• Close access to Transit and UHN shuttle service
• A flexible work environment
• Opportunities for development and promotions within a large organization
• Additional perks (multiple corporate discounts including: travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance discounts, on-site gyms, etc.)

Current UHN employees must have successfully completed their probationary period, have a good employee record along with satisfactory attendance in accordance with UHN's attendance management program, to be eligible for consideration.

Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.

UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.