System Medical Director, Pre-Surgical Optimization

AMN Healthcare; Illinois; On-site; USD 320,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern Medicine seeks a physician leader to serve as System Medical Director for Pre-Surgical Optimization. This full-time anesthesiologist provides clinical and administrative leadership for the system-wide clinic, supporting perioperative excellence, patient safety, and operational performance.

You will lead system-wide optimization efforts, align clinic operations with strategy, develop triage criteria, collaborate with surgical and administrative leaders, and drive quality improvement

Qualifications

• Board-certified physician with perioperative medicine experience.
• Proven leadership in clinical operations and quality improvement.
• Academic accomplishment and teaching experience required.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-wide pre-surgical optimization efforts and align clinic operations with perioperative strategy.
• Improve preoperative clinic utilization, reduce elective case cancellations, and enhance operating room efficiency.
• Develop triage policies and clinical criteria to ensure appropriate patient prioritization.
• Collaborate with surgical, anesthesiology, and administrative leaders to resolve clinical and operational issues.
• Support quality improvement, patient safety, and data-driven process enhancements.
• Provide remote and on-site clinical support across local preoperative clinics.

Skills

Leadership

Policy development

Communication

Process improvement

Teaching experience

Education

Academic rank Assistant Professor or higher

Job description

Key Responsibilities

Northwestern Medicine is seeking a physician leader to serve as System Medical Director for Pre-Surgical Optimization. This full-time anesthesiologist will provide clinical and administrative leadership for the system-wide Pre-Surgical Optimization Clinic, supporting perioperative excellence, patient safety, and operational performance across Northwestern Medicine.

• Lead system-wide pre-surgical optimization efforts and align clinic operations with perioperative strategy.
• Improve preoperative clinic utilization, reduce elective case cancellations, and enhance operating room efficiency.
• Develop triage policies and clinical criteria to ensure appropriate patient prioritization.
• Collaborate with surgical, anesthesiology, and administrative leaders to resolve clinical and operational issues.
• Support quality improvement, patient safety, and data-driven process enhancements.
• Provide remote and on-site clinical support across local preoperative clinics.

Qualifications

• Board-certified physician with demonstrated experience in perioperative medicine, pre-surgical optimization, or a related area.
• Proven leadership in clinical operations, quality improvement, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Academic accomplishment, scholarly productivity, and teaching experience required.
• Strong communication, management, and process improvement skills.
• Prior leadership experience required; academic rank of Assistant Professor or higher required.

The ideal candidate is a respected clinician-leader with a strong record of improving systems, advancing perioperative care, and working effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

Facility

Academic

About the Company

At AMN Healthcare, we strive to be recognized as the most trusted, innovative, and influential force in helping healthcare organizations provide quality patient care that continually evolves to make healthcare more human, more effective, and more achievable.