Patient Partner, Island Health Hiring Panels

Are you passionate about patient- and family-centred care? Would you like a voice in deciding who gets hired into Island Health leadership positions? Island Health is seeking patient partners to join hiring panels and wants to hear from you!

Open to: Patient partners from Greater Victoria & Sooke

Lead Organization or Department

Island Health, Human Resources & Patient Experience

Aim

The goal of including patient partners on interview panels for leadership positions is to provide patients and families with the opportunity to have a voice in the services and policies that affect their lives. Patient participation and insight during the interview process promotes a patient- and family-centred approach to leadership within Island Health. Patient partners will be asked to work collaboratively with Island Health team members on the hiring panel to determine the best candidate for the position.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.  

Eligibility

• Live in or around Greater Victoria or Sooke.
• Have a strong desire to ensure the experiences of patients and families are a key priority within Island Health.
• Prepared to review and analyze documents, contribute to interview processes, and provide recommendations in a rigorous and comprehensive manner.
• Comfortable with receiving requests for participation with short notice (1-3 weeks).
• Have the courage and self-confidence to engage fully with others in strong leadership positions; express your thoughts and opinions, even if they represent a minority position on the panel; and ask questions when information is unclear.
• Not open to patient partners who are currently employed by Island Health
• Patient partners should have previously attended a PVN orientation session.  If you have not attended an orientation but are interested please contact Kira Tozer directly to see if accommodations may be possible.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 9
• Location: Interviews will take place within the Greater Victoria area; most commonly at the Royal Jubilee Hospital
• Date/Time: TBD. Patient partners in the hiring panel pool will be called with 1-3 weeks notice of an interview date.  Please note there may be occasional changes in the dates/times provided as candidates reschedule, etc.
• Commitment: Patient partners are asked to stay in the panel pool for a minimum of 1 and maximum of 3 years. Each Patient Partner will be asked to participate 6-10 days per year.   Each panel interview process will take 1-2 days and will involve:
  • reviewing materials prior to the interview (resumes, job descriptions) (1-2 hours)
  • a telephone support meeting between the patient partner and Human Resources point of contact (1 hour)
  • a touch base meeting between panel members followed by panel interviews (1 day)
  • providing feedback about the candidates and interview process (1-hour post-interview)
• Please note: prior to participating on a panel, selected patient partners will be asked to attend a 2-hour training/onboarding session. Tentatively set for July 25 or Aug 3.

Reimbursement

Parking fees and mileage will be reimbursed. Meals on the day of the interview will be provided or reimbursed.

Background

Patient partners have been increasingly involved in the hiring of new Island Health leadership employees (Executive Director through to manager-level positions), so that patients and families have a voice in the services and policies that affect their lives.  The goal for 2018 is to establish a more formalized Patient Partner Hiring Panel Group through a pilot project starting in Geography 4 (Greater Victoria and Sooke). This pilot will be reassessed within six months of starting date.  Other members of the hiring panels may include: executives, front-line staff, physicians, administrators, community agency representatives, etc.  Patient partners will be supported by the Island Health Human Resources and the Patient Experience Department.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Kira Tozer
Engagement Leader, Patient & Public Engagement | Vancouver Island
250.888.4525
ktozer@bcpsqc.ca