Senior Risk Management Specialist

Boston Medical Center; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 97,500 - 141,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental coverage

Vision insurance

Flexible Spending Accounts

403(b) savings matches

Paid time off

Discretionary annual bonuses

Job summary

Boston Medical Center is seeking a Senior Risk Management Specialist to lead efforts in risk management, ensuring patient safety and regulatory compliance. This hybrid role mainly operates onsite and involves collaboration with various departments to mitigate malpractice risk.

Ideal candidates should have a Bachelor’s Degree, significant healthcare experience, and risk management certifications. The position offers a competitive compensation range and comprehensive benefits aimed at employee well-being.

Qualifications

• Requires Bachelor's Degree, advanced degree preferred in nursing or science.
• 7 years of clinical care experience with CPHRM or RN certification, or 10 years without.
• Must obtain CPHRM within two years if hired.

Responsibilities

• Support the Quality and Patient Safety Program.
• Participate in regulatory readiness activities.
• Investigate and analyze patient safety events.
• Coordinate risk management training.
• Provide immediate consultation during adverse events.
• Use a database to track patient safety events.
• Draft reports for regulatory agencies.

Skills

Risk management experience in healthcare

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Excellent verbal and written communication

Confidentiality handling

Computer skills

Flexibility

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Advanced degree (JD, Master’s)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adverse event reporting software (RL Solutions)

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Risk Management Specialist provides leadership in risk management by promoting high quality care to patients, ensuring regulatory compliance, and mitigating malpractice risk through loss prevention. This hybrid position requires onsite presence three days a week and on-call coverage each month. The Specialist supports the institution-wide program to maximize the safety of services delivered to BMC patients.

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with QPS leadership, the Chief Quality Officer, Director of Risk Management, and Director of Patient Safety to support the Quality and Patient Safety Program, serving as a resource for error detection, prevention, and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) projects.
• Participates in ongoing regulatory readiness activities and functions as a member of the onsite survey management team during Department of Public Health (DPH) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) surveys.
• Investigates and analyzes actual and potential patient/visitor safety events (near‑misses) for improvement opportunities and legal action, conducting chart reviews, staff/provider interviews, policy review, best practice research, and observation activities.
• Coordinates risk and safety management training for providers, management, and staff to enhance awareness of patient safety and risk reduction.
• Provides immediate consultation during the on‑call system to respond to adverse events, offering recommendations and mitigation strategies.
• Uses an electronic database to track patient safety events, identify trends, and facilitate case management of the incident reporting system.
• Collaborates with Quality and Patient Safety staff to identify and mitigate local and organizational trends impacting patient safety and supports the implementation of safer processes and systems of care.
• Collaborates with the Claims Department to help minimize legal/financial liability.
• Interacts with administration, clinicians, staff, senior management, and Department Chairpersons across BMC.
• Participates in clinical case review and case learning committees and facilitates committee operations as assigned.
• Drafts reports for regulatory agencies and mentors Risk Management Specialists in all aspects of work responsibilities.
• Ensures compliance with state, federal, and Joint Commission risk management standards through current knowledge of legislative and regulatory activities.
• Assists in the development, maintenance, and revision of policies and procedures to improve patient safety and reduce loss exposure, ensuring they meet all regulatory and accreditation requirements.
• Develops and presents educational sessions on patient safety and professional liability risk reduction to physicians and management.
• Supports managers and department chairs in designing patient safety and risk management programs specific to their areas and reports on risk management matters to quality committees and boards.
• Ensures proper collection and maintenance of information for the defense of claims, preparing investigation reports and assisting the Director of Claims.
• Provides consultation to Patient/Family Relations (PFR) to mitigate risk associated with patient/family complaints.
• Supports the Manager, Risk Management in all regulatory activities related to the Patient Care Assessment Plan and Serious Reportable Events for DPH and Board of Registration in Medicine (BORM).

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s Degree required; advanced degree (JD, Master’s) preferred; concentration in nursing, science, or other healthcare related field required.

Certifications/Licenses: CPHRM preferred at hire; required within two years. CPPS and/or CPHQ preferred. RN preferred.

Experience: With CPHRM or RN certification – 7 years of clinical care/healthcare experience, minimum 3 years in risk management/patient safety/quality improvement. Without certification – 10 years of clinical care/healthcare experience and at least 7 years in risk management, patient safety, or quality improvement.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Risk management experience in a healthcare setting, knowledge of medical malpractice, healthcare law, and terminology.
• Interpersonal skills to engage administration, clinical leadership, and staff.
• Ability to interview individuals and groups from diverse professional backgrounds.
• Confidentiality handling and organization of event information into coherent narratives.
• Self‑motivation, project management, and deadline adherence.
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, including speaking before large audiences.
• Computer skills with Microsoft Office and learning new applications such as adverse event reporting software (RL Solutions).
• Flexibility to work irregular and additional hours for on‑call purposes.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation Range: $97,500.00 – $141,500.00, based on education, experience, skills, certifications, and organizational needs.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, pharmacy coverage, discretionary annual bonuses, merit increases, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) savings matches, paid time off, and resources to support employee and family well‑being.

Employment Conditions

BMC requires all staff to be vaccinated against COVID‑19, flu, and to receive a booster dose of the COVID‑19 vaccine.

Equal Opportunity Employer

BMC is an equal employment/affirmative action employer. We ensure equal employment opportunities for all, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other non‑job‑related characteristic. Accommodations for applicants with medical conditions or disabilities are available upon request.

Electronic Employment Verification

BMC participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program (E‑Verify). Prospective employees must complete a background check before beginning employment.