Description

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

The Department of Psychiatry, in partnership with the Institute of Mental Health and the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP), in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC), invite applications for the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation Professorship in Mental Health at UBC – a new endowed professorship open to qualified applicants to be appointed at the rank of Associate Professor (tenure) or Full Professor (tenure).

This position will primarily be based at the distributed VFMP site in New Westminster, BC, at the Mental Health and Substance Use Wellness Centre at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH), serving the Fraser Health Authority.

As part of one of the world’s leading universities, the UBC Department of Psychiatry supports outstanding research and engages local, national and global communities. We create an exceptional learning environment, advance mental health research and promote sustainable care for mental illness and addictions. The UBC Department of Psychiatry consists of more than 950 Department members, including academic and clinical faculty, trainees, students and staff with broad expertise in basic neuroscience to translational and clinical research. The Department's medical education programs are some of the most widely distributed within the Faculty of Medicine consisting of faculty appointees and trainees located within each of British Columbia’s Health Authorities.

The VFMP is one of five distributed sites in the Faculty of Medicine’s MD Undergraduate Program. The VFMP provides innovative community-based training for physicians at hospitals and clinical sites in Vancouver, and across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, in alignment with the social accountability principle of the UBC Faculty of Medicine strategic plan. Along with the Island Medical Program, the Southern Medical Program, and the Northern Medical Program, this distributed medical program was the first of its kind in North America and has proven to be a highly successful model of distributed education.

This professorship is partly funded and supported by endowment funds from the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. The objectives of the Professorship are:

• to support mental health research and training at the University;
• to work collaboratively with other clinicians and scientists to develop and lead a mental health and addictions research portfolio with a focus on the mental health challenges of the immigrant, ethnically diverse, and refugee populations situated in the Fraser Health region of British Columbia;
• to actively support the teaching activities of the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program and the Psychiatry Residency Training Program based in the Fraser Health Authority, as well as provide mentorship and training to undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate learners within Fraser Health at its Royal Columbian Hospital;
• to provide research mentorship to Fraser Health clinicians.

Reporting to the Head of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, the successful candidate is expected to lead a research program that will address the unique needs of the region’s rapidly growing population as well as culturally diverse populations. In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to work collaboratively with the leadership of Fraser Health including Regional Department Head, Site Department Head at RCH, Associate Program Director for Residency Training in Psychiatry as well other clinicians and scientists to develop and lead a Fraser-based mental health and addictions research portfolio dedicated to addressing urgent mental health and addictions issues unique to the Fraser Health region. The successful candidate will also be expected to actively participate in the teaching activities of the Department of Psychiatry, as well as provide mentorship and training to undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate learners, as well as to clinicians with research interest in Fraser Health.

The expected salary for this position is $185,000 to $230,000 per annum. The Faculty of Medicine is committed to offering equitable and competitive salaries, commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate. At UBC, in addition to a generous benefit package and highly valued pension plan, faculty members also have access to a comprehensive range of leaves, services, resources and career development opportunities. For more information, please visit: https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc.

Candidates who bring diverse perspectives and lived experiences are encouraged to apply as we strive to enhance diversity, inclusiveness, socio-cultural representation, and perspective of the Department. An application package should include:

• a letter of application with a detailed curriculum vitae that addresses (i) scholarly, professional and creative work, (ii) teaching (including summary of academic and/ or clinical teaching), (iii) administrative service and experience fostering collaboration across partners, and (iv) a brief statement of your current or previous contributions to advancing anti-racism, equity, diversity, decolonization, Indigenization and inclusion in an academic, professional, or community context;
• publications record;
• and names of four arm’s length references
   

Please submit your application package to:

Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, Professor and Head

Department of Psychiatry

The University of British Columbia

c/o Margaret Koshi, Director of Administration

Email: margaret.koshi@ubc.ca

Subject Line: Academic Faculty Position – VFMP at RCH

Additional information can be obtained by visiting psychiatry.ubc.ca or by email at psychiatry.headasst@ubc.ca

Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2024 and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is April 1, 2025 or upon a date to be mutually agreed.

We invite applications from qualified candidates who share our commitment to employment equity and inclusive excellence, and we welcome applications from candidates belonging to historically, persistently, or systemically marginalized groups: Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, Inuit) Peoples, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and trans and non-binary people.

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment for all members of its workforce. An inclusive work environment presumes an environment where differences are appreciated, recognized, and integrated into current structures, planning, and decision-making modes. Within this hiring process we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable process for all candidates (including but not limited to people with disabilities). 

Confidential accommodations are available on request. Please contact Margaret Koshi via email at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca. If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Centre for Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/workplace-accessibility/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca. 

With gratitude, we acknowledge that the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and its distributed programs, which include four university academic campuses, are located on traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of First Nations Peoples and communities around the province.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone.

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty - comprised of approximately 2,200 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 650 full-time academic and over 10,000 clinical faculty members - is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, three schools, and 24 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

UBC - One of the World's Leading Universities. As one of the world's leading universities, the University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.

Requirements

The successful candidate will hold an MD with certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) or equivalent qualifications in Psychiatry, and have demonstrated experience in promoting and supporting evidence-based and culturally appropriate care, incorporating alternate and complimentary therapies for patient populations in this region. They are expected to have expertise in at least one of the following areas: early intervention, concurrent disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, immigrant and refugee populations, alternate and complementary therapies or novel treatment modalities. Clinical experience demonstrating the potential to make a significant contribution to patient care and psychiatric education is required.

• If appointed at the rank of Associate Professor, the successful candidate will have demonstrated evidence of successful teaching and ability to direct graduate students, evidence of sustained and productive scholarly activity, and must be willing to participate in the affairs of the Department and the University.
   
• If appointed at the rank of Professor, the successful candidate will have demonstrated appropriate standards of excellence in teaching, have received wide recognition in their sustained and productive scholarly activity, and participated significantly in academic and professional affairs. The successful candidate will also have demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and interact with empathy, understanding and, respect of diverse and divergent perspectives and behaviors.