Career Center

The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago – a world-class, research-intensive, pediatric medical center affiliated with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine – seeks a talented physician leader to serve as Head of the Division of Palliative Care. This position will be on the non-tenure eligible track and the candidate should be MD or MD/PhD, with board certification and fellowship training in Palliative Care.

The Division Head is responsible for leading all clinical care, research endeavors, educational efforts, advocacy and administrative aspects of the Division’s work. As the leader of the division, the Division will apply a strong and proven commitment to excellence in delivery of care, research, education, and advocacy. The Division Head will have the opportunity to lead and have impact in the following ways:

• Develop a strategic vision and lead the Division
• Support and foster excellence in patient care and quality improvement
• Recruit, retain, and foster the career development of distinguished faculty
• Further strengthen the culture of academic and research excellence
• Cultivate educational opportunities, including support of our robust palliative care fellowship
• Collaborate with aligned program areas in our medical center.

The successful candidate will be a strategic, thoughtful leader with robust experience in an academic medical center setting. Candidates should have an interest in faculty and fellow mentorship, as it is a key responsibility in supporting division members’ career growth and development. This individual will act as the representative in interactions with Department leadership, hospital administration, external groups and philanthropic donors. The individual in this role is responsible for oversight of divisional operational, philanthropic and grant funding in partnership with the Division Administrator. Academic rank and salary will be commensurate with experience.

The Division of Palliative Care

The Pediatric Palliative Care Team at Lurie Children’s provides support to patients and families faced with potentially life-limiting conditions, regardless of stage or prognosis.

Our interdisciplinary team uses a comprehensive approach that focuses on the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of patients with serious illnesses. We help patients and families work with the clinical team to align their values and goals with the chosen medical therapies. We also help address any hopes, worries or troubling symptoms to make sure that every day is as good as possible.

Palliative care services for patient-families include:

• Improving the management of pain and other symptoms
• Maximizing quality of life for the patient and family
• Advocating for effective communication between the patient, family and healthcare team
• Assisting patients and families in decision-making that is reflective of their values and preferences
• Providing emotional support when facing difficult circumstances
• Coordinating care between the hospital and home-based hospice or palliative care services (visits by nurses, social workers, chaplains and, when available, art and music therapists when appropriate)

In addition, our team provides perinatal palliative care consultation and palliative care services for fetal patients and parents at Lurie Children’s and Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital, through a close collaboration with The Chicago Institute for Fetal Health.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Lurie Children's) is a free-standing children’s hospital located just off the Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan, and adjacent to the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine campus.

Lurie Children’s has more than 1,100 pediatric specialists focusing on 70 specialties in multiple locations and routinely provides care to more young people than any other Chicago-area hospital or medical center.

The patient population represents a broad spectrum of socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic backgrounds, and geographic distribution that ranges from the immediate Chicago area to a referral population throughout Illinois and over 40 states. The Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute serves as the home of all research-related activities at Lurie Children’s, with over $75 million in extramural funding. The Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities serves as the hub for all community-engaged programs and advocacy, including initiatives that involve trainees.

Our primary affiliation with and proximity to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine provides rich opportunities for collaboration across its many centers and institutes, including the Institute for Public Health and Medicine, the Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences and the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. Chicago is a world-class city, home to some of the most diverse and culturally rich neighborhoods in America. We have world-champion sports teams, renowned architecture, award-winning theater, numerous parks and beaches, over 7,000 restaurants, and much more. With a population of nearly 3 million in the city and 7 million in the greater metropolitan area, Chicago is the cultural, industrial, and commercial center of the Midwest.

Lurie Children’s is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, as part of Northwestern University’s downtown campus that is also home to Northwestern’s School of Law, Feinberg School of Medicine, School of Continuing Studies, and the Kellogg School’s Part-Time MBA Program.

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The Department of Pediatrics is strongly committed to diversity, and equity is critical to the mission of advancing excellence in academic programs, world-class research, and health care and health promotion programs. As our healthcare and academic institutions serve increasingly diverse constituencies, it is vital to understand the ways in which differences in gender, class, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and other identities can both divide us and offer us better ways of thinking and working. Applications are encouraged from diverse applicants, including individuals who are a part of the BIPOC community, transgender and non-binary people, sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and women, as these varying perspectives are valuable and contribute to success in the role. The Department is committed to supporting faculty to work in an increasingly diverse society by promoting equity and justice for all individuals, actively working to eliminate barriers and obstacles created by institutional discrimination. Engagement in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military service, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression will not be tolerated.

Lurie Children’s is located on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today. Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

This position will be on the non-tenure eligible track and the candidate should be MD or MD/PhD, with board certification and fellowship training in Palliative Care.