Department Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology

The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University invites applications for the position of Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The Chair plays a pivotal role in building and supervising both clinical and academic programs that are part of the Augusta University enterprise. The Chair reports to the Dean and will serve as the department’s academic and administrative leader, providing direction in research, educational programs, faculty recruitment, retention and development, budget management and oversight, and strategic planning.

The role of Department Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology requires articulation of a vision that enhances the excellence of the department, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across the University, and undertakes new initiatives that maintain and expand the existing departmental, clinical, research, and teaching missions. The Chair will be a critical leader within the Health System and will be expected to partner with other Department Chairs and Health System leaders to lift the Augusta University Health System to world-class levels of excellence in all aspects of performance including clinical quality, financial success, growth of patient volumes, patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and physician satisfaction. The new Chair will also be expected to actively contribute to strategic planning activities that are essential for plotting the course to success for the Health System.

The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated track record of successfully recruiting strong faculty members, and developing and enhancing OBGYN programs at an academic medical center/medical school. In addition, top candidates should be strong mentors of junior faculty and have a passion for helping develop younger faculty members to achieve success with research endeavors as well as in the clinical and educational arenas. He/she should also have a national reputation for excellence in the field of Obstetrics & Gynecology and demonstrate active participation – preferably in leadership roles – in the professional societies. A key focus for the new chair will be enhancing the stature and reputation of the Department among other leading physicians across the country. The new chair will be expected to champion excellence in clinical quality and should therefore have a track record of consistently achieving quality outcomes at the highest levels of the profession. The new Chair will also be expected to synchronize the Departmental educational goals with those of the residency program, based on the pillars of research, teaching, learning, innovation, and quality improvement.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualifications for the position include an MD/DO or equivalent degree, current board certification in Obstetrics & Gynecology, and academic accomplishments that merit tenured appointment at the rank of Associate or Full Professor. He /she must possess, or be eligible for, a medical license in the state of Georgia. An outstanding record of academic accomplishment and demonstrated excellence in patient care, education, and research along with demonstrated experience working with and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment, and a commitment to do so as a faculty member at Augusta University is required. 

 About the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) is the flagship medical school of the University System of Georgia, the state’s only public medical school, and one of the top 5 largest medical schools in the United States. Founded nearly 200 years ago in 1828 as the nation’s fifth public medical school, the third medical school in the Southeast and the thirteenth in the nation, MCG has risen to its current role optimizing health care in Georgia and beyond through education, discovery, and service.

The Medical College of Georgia educational experience is anchored by the main campus in Augusta, as well as three regional clinical campuses for third-and fourth-year students and a second four-year campus in Athens, Georgia in partnership with the University of Georgia. The state’s medical school also offers clinical training in more than 200 sites across the state providing students experience in the full spectrum of medicine, from tertiary/quaternary care hospitals to small-town solo practices. MCG and its teaching hospitals provide postgraduate education to nearly 500 residents in 44 different programs. More than 51 percent of MCG graduates remain in Georgia to practice, well above the average retention rate of 39 percent. In 2016 MCG graduated more than twice the number of physicians going into primary care and core specialties – like family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and general surgery – than any other medical school in the state of Georgia.

Our researchers and clinicians focus on illnesses that affect most of Georgia and America’s children and adults, including cardiovascular biology and disease, cancer, neurosciences and behavioral sciences, public and preventive health, regenerative and reparative medicine, personalized medicine, and genomics. They also share their expertise with physicians and patients at about 80 clinics and hospitals statewide.

About the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology provides comprehensive clinical care from general women’s health to subspecialty care, including Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Gynecologic Oncology, Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility and Genetics, and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Its faculty and staff serve a diverse patient population from a broad geographical area across Georgia and South Carolina. OBGYN and Neonatology are part of a regional perinatal center with a Level IV NICU.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s four-year residency program is fully accredited by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) without current citation. The mission of departmental leadership and academic faculty is to provide a collegial environment in which residents can master the principles and skills of their field. The Department has a proven track record of success in preparing graduates for independent practice, whether in academics, research, private practice, or subspecialty training. Graduates from the program have become community, regional, and national leaders in patient care, academics, and research.

In addition to the residency program, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology also has fellowship programs in Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility and Genetics and Gynecologic Oncology. Both fellowships are three-year programs with one fellow positions per year and are accredited by ACGME. The Gynecologic Oncology fellowship is the state’s first and one of less than 50 in the country.

The Department’s medical student education program is also robust and is institutionally recognized for its outstanding clinical science teaching. The goal is to introduce students to the various aspects of Women’s Health Care and to provide them with the knowledge and skills they will need to care for female patients regardless of their chosen specialty.

Department research is also strong and includes the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine, whose research efforts focus on discovery and validation of biomarkers for disease prediction and diagnosis and pharmacomics and drug discovery for personalized medicine. The Department has consistently ranked in the top 20 in NIH funding for Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology in recent years and was ranked 4^th nationally in 2017 by Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

How to Apply

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Candidate materials should include a letter of interest and complete curriculum vitae.

On behalf of the Search Committee Chair, Jatinder Bhatia, MD, applications, nominations, and inquiries will be received electronically by Sharon Wingard, Executive Search Consultant, Augusta University at: executivesearch@augusta.edu.

The final candidate will be required to provide proof of completed academic degree in the form of an original transcript. Those candidates trained by a foreign institution will also be required to provide an educational/credential evaluation.

Augusta University is an AA/EEO/Equal Access/ADA Employer