Description

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine invites applications and nominations for the position of Chief of the Division of Trauma, Acute Care, and Critical Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine seeks a visionary physician leader with a distinguished record of achievement in academic surgery and demonstrated success in trauma systems, acute care surgery, surgical critical care, and faculty leadership. The successful candidate will provide strategic direction for one of the region's premier trauma programs while advancing the Division's clinical, educational, and research missions.

The Division Chief will oversee a comprehensive program built around UK HealthCare's American College of Surgeons-accredited Level I Trauma Center, one of only two Level I Trauma Centers serving the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Division serves as a regional referral center for central and southeastern Kentucky, providing tertiary trauma care to a service area encompassing 60 counties, approximately 20,000 square miles, and a population of more than 1.4 million people.

The successful candidate will maintain an active clinical practice while fostering excellence in trauma surgery, acute care surgery, and surgical critical care. The Division Chief will be expected to grow the Division's regional and national reputation through innovation in clinical care, education, quality improvement, outreach, and scholarly activity.

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General Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for a nationally recognized trauma, acute care surgery, and surgical critical care program.
• Advance the clinical, educational, research, and outreach missions of the Division while supporting the Department's vision for excellence in academic surgery.
• Partner with hospital and health system leadership to enhance trauma system development, referral growth, injury prevention initiatives, and regional outreach efforts.
• Promote multidisciplinary collaboration among surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesia, neurosurgery, orthopedics, radiology, rehabilitation medicine, and critical care services.
• Ensure delivery of timely, evidence-based, high-quality, and cost-effective care for patients experiencing complex multisystem injury, emergency surgical conditions, and critical illness.
• Continue to strengthen UK HealthCare's role as a regional referral center for both urban and rural trauma care throughout Kentucky and the Appalachian region.

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Administrative Responsibilities   

• Establish strategic goals, operational priorities, and quality benchmarks supporting continued growth of the Division.
• Oversee physician performance, quality improvement activities, workforce planning, faculty development, and divisional finances.
• Support trauma center verification and accreditation activities, compliance initiatives, and performance improvement programs.
• Promote innovation in clinical operations, patient throughput, trauma systems development, and critical care delivery.
• Participate in physician recruitment, retention, mentorship, and succession planning.
• Collaborate with UK HealthCare leadership to expand referral relationships and outreach programs throughout Kentucky and neighboring states.

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Academic Responsibilities   

• Provide leadership and support for resident and fellow education across all training programs involving Trauma, Acute Care, and Critical Care Surgery.
• Foster excellence within the ACGME-accredited Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program, which maintains an approved complement of two fellows annually.
• Support educational opportunities associated with the Division's optional Trauma Instructor year and other advanced surgical training experiences.
• Promote interdisciplinary educational initiatives involving surgery residents, critical care fellows, physician assistant trainees, and medical students.
• Collaborate with the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences in support of the Physician Assistant Residency in Acute Care Surgery, a one-year postgraduate training program developed in partnership with Division faculty.
• Encourage innovation in simulation, curriculum development, and competency-based surgical education.

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Research Responsibilities    

• Lead and expand the Division's research portfolio in trauma, acute care surgery, and surgical critical care.
• Support ongoing clinical, translational, and outcomes-based research initiatives.
• Facilitate collaborative research involving trauma systems, hemorrhagic shock, septic shock, cardiogenic shock, critical care outcomes, injury prevention, and rural trauma care.
• Promote participation in multicenter clinical trials and externally funded research programs.
• Mentor faculty, residents, fellows, and advanced practice providers in scholarly activity and academic advancement.
• Maintain personal academic productivity through peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and collaborative investigations.

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Clinical Responsibilities     

• Maintain an active clinical practice in trauma surgery, emergency general surgery, surgical critical care, or related disciplines.
• Provide leadership within a high-volume Level I Trauma Center admitting more than 3,500 trauma patients annually and managing more than 1,400 high-level trauma activations.
• Participate in trauma, emergency general surgery, and critical care call schedules as appropriate.
• Serve as a clinical role model committed to excellence in patient outcomes, safety, professionalism, and multidisciplinary teamwork.
• Advance evidence-based approaches to trauma resuscitation, emergency surgical care, and intensive care management.

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Key Attractors to the Role

• Lead a Premier Regional Trauma Program
  • Direct one of only two ACS-verified Level I Trauma Centers in Kentucky.
  • Oversee a program serving central and southeastern Kentucky and the Appalachian region.
  • Lead a high-volume trauma service caring for more than 3,500 trauma admissions annually.
• Shape the Future of Surgical Education
  • Lead educational programs spanning medical students, surgery residents, critical care fellows, and advanced practice providers.
  • Oversee an ACGME-accredited Surgical Critical Care Fellowship with two fellows per year.
  • Collaborate with the nationally distinctive Physician Assistant Residency in Acute Care Surgery.
• Build a Robust Academic Program
  • Expand clinical, translational, and outcomes research in trauma and surgical critical care.
  • Leverage strong institutional support for injury prevention, trauma systems development, rural trauma initiatives, and multidisciplinary research.
  • Advance innovation in trauma care for both urban and rural populations.
• Practice at a Leading Academic Medical Center
  • Practice within UK HealthCare, a major tertiary and quaternary referral center for Kentucky and the surrounding region.
  • Work alongside nationally recognized faculty across multiple surgical and medical specialties.
  • Benefit from extensive opportunities for collaboration throughout the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and UK HealthCare.

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Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be a nationally respected academic surgeon and collaborative leader with expertise in trauma surgery, acute care surgery, and surgical critical care. The successful candidate will possess a demonstrated commitment to clinical excellence, innovative education, quality improvement, and scholarly achievement. They will be passionate about serving the unique needs of both rural and urban trauma populations while advancing the Division's mission as a regional leader in trauma care, surgical critical care, injury prevention, and academic surgery.