Medical Director--Kidney Transplant

Medical Director, Kidney Transplant Program

Position Summary

Reporting to the medical leadership of the Transplant Institute, the Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program provides strategic, clinical, and operational leadership for the kidney transplant service, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered, evidence-based care across the continuum of transplantation. This physician leader is responsible for advancing clinical excellence, optimizing patient outcomes, ensuring regulatory and accreditation compliance, and supporting sustainable program growth.

Working with in collaboration with transplant surgery, nursing and other stakeholders, the Medical Director establishes clinical priorities, drives quality improvement initiatives, and promotes a multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

The Medical Director will lead efforts to expand access to transplantation, improve referral-to-evaluation and evaluation-to-listing processes, enhance living donor transplant, and strengthen relationships with referring nephrologists, dialysis centers, and community providers.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Clinical Leadership and Patient Care
• Working with the Surgical Director of Kidney Transplant, incumbent will provide clinical oversight of the kidney transplant program, ensuring adherence to established clinical protocols, evidence-based practices, and institutional standards.
• Oversee the medical evaluation, selection, listing, and ongoing management of kidney transplant candidates.
• Collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to determine candidate suitability, manage complex clinical cases, and facilitate timely clinical decision-making.
• Promote individualized treatment plans that address medical complexity, comorbidities, psychosocial barriers, and social determinants of health.
• Provide oversight of post-transplant medical management, including immunosuppression, graft function, rejection management, infectious complications, and long-term patient outcomes.
• Support continuity of care between the Transplant Institute, referring nephrologists, dialysis units, and community providers.
• Promote patient education, shared decision-making, and informed consent throughout the transplant journey.
• Program Strategy and Growth
• Develop and implement a strategic vision for the kidney transplant program in partnership with transplant leadership, including the development of a Pancreas Transplant program.
• Establish annual clinical and operational goals aligned with institutional priorities, program capacity, and growth objectives.
• Lead initiatives to increase appropriate referrals, improve evaluation completion and listing rates, and reduce avoidable delays in the transplant process.
• Develop strategies to expand living donor kidney transplantation, including paired kidney exchange participation, donor education, and collaboration with living donor surgical teams.
• Foster relationships with referring nephrologists, dialysis units, community hospitals, and regional healthcare providers.
• Identify opportunities to expand access to transplantation among medically complex and underserved populations.
• Collaborate with Institute leadership to align physician staffing, APP resources, coordinator capacity, and clinical infrastructure with program growth.
• Quality, Patient Safety, and Regulatory Compliance
• Maintain clinical oversight of program compliance with applicable CMS Conditions of Participation, OPTN policies, and other applicable regulatory and accreditation standards.
• Lead participation in transplant quality assurance and performance improvement activities, including the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program.
• Monitor and evaluate program performance using clinical outcomes, national benchmarks, and internal quality metrics.
• Review transplant outcomes, including patient and graft survival, delayed graft function, rejection, readmissions, complications, and other relevant clinical indicators.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and implement corrective action plans when performance falls below established targets.
• Participate in regulatory surveys, audits, site visits, and responses to findings.
• Promote a culture of patient safety, transparency, accountability, and continuous quality improvement.
• Operational and Multidisciplinary Leadership
• Partner with the Institute Administrative Leadership to oversee clinical operations, resource utilization, and program performance.
• Establish clear clinical workflows, protocols, escalation pathways, and standards of care.
• Participate in transplant selection committee meetings and ensure consistent application of candidate selection criteria.
• Identify operational barriers affecting patient access, evaluation completion, listing, transplantation, and post-transplant follow-up.
• Collaborate with hospital departments to improve coordination of care, including laboratory services, radiology, cardiology, infectious disease, pathology, and operating room services.
• Support appropriate utilization of clinical resources and efficient delivery of care.
• Physician Recruitment, Development, and Academic Leadership
• Participate in recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and professional development of kidney transplant physicians and advanced practice providers.
• Foster a collaborative clinical environment that promotes professional accountability, interdisciplinary communication, and clinical excellence.
• Support academic activities, including teaching, clinical research, publications, presentations, and participation in professional societies.
• Promote participation in clinical trials, quality improvement research, and initiatives that advance kidney transplantation.
• Represent the program at regional and national transplant meetings and professional organizations.
• Support the development of future transplant leaders and the advancement of the institution's academic mission.
• Financial Stewardship and Resource Management
• Evaluate opportunities to improve operational efficiency, reduce avoidable costs, and optimize clinical resource utilization without compromising quality or patient safety.
• Support strategies to improve transplant access and reduce preventable candidate attrition.
• Participate in evaluation of new clinical programs, technologies, and service enhancements.
• Align clinical growth initiatives with staffing, infrastructure, and financial sustainability.
  
  

Qualifications

Required:

• MD or DO degree from an accredited medical school.
• Board certification in Internal Medicine and Nephrology.
• Fellowship training in Transplant Nephrology.
• Eligibility for or possession of an unrestricted New York State medical license.
• Demonstrated clinical experience in kidney transplantation, including transplant candidate evaluation, selection, and post-transplant management.
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary transplant program.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
  
  

Preferred

• Advanced training or substantial experience in pancreas transplant.
• Prior leadership experience as a kidney transplant Medical Director, Associate Medical Director, or equivalent physician leader.
• Experience with OPTN policies, CMS transplant regulations, and transplant program quality oversight.
• Demonstrated success in clinical program development, quality improvement, and operational performance improvement.
• Academic experience, including research, publications, teaching, or participation in clinical trials.
• Experience with living donor kidney transplantation and paired kidney exchange initiatives.
  
  

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic and operational leadership
• Clinical judgment and evidence-based decision-making
• Quality improvement and patient safety
• Regulatory and accreditation compliance
• Multidisciplinary collaboration
• Physician engagement and team development
• Data-driven performance management
• Financial and resource stewardship
• Patient advocacy and equitable access to transplantation
• Effective communication and conflict resolution