Organ Recovery Surgeon

Company Description

Come join our team and become part of what the Boston Globe has recognized as one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts 2018 - 2024! 

Saving lives through organ and tissue donation is the mission uniting our employees and drives the work we do. 

New England Donor Services (NEDS) coordinates organ and tissue donation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, the eastern counties of Vermont and Bermuda. Responsible for one of the largest of the 56 Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) that make up the nation’s donation system, NEDS works with over 200 hospitals and serves nearly 15 million people in our region, screening nearly 55,000 potential donor referrals annually. With approximately $110M in operating revenues, NEDS employs 348 clinical and non-clinical staff members throughout New England and across the country.

Our vision is to be a leader in the development and implementation of strategies to increase the life-saving and life-enhancing gifts of organ and tissue donation through effective relationships with our clinical partners, donor families and the communities we serve.

Job Description

Under the administrative direction of the Sr. Vice President Organ Utilization and the clinical direction of the Chief Medical Officer and Surgical Director, the NEDS Recovery Surgeon is a licensed physician with experience in organ donation, surgical organ recovery and organ transplantation.  The NEDS Recovery Surgeon has the primary responsibility is the surgical dissection, removal and preparation of abdominal organs recovered from deceased donors for transplantation and research, as well as the intraoperative assessment of medical suitability of the deceased donor.  The NEDS Recovery Surgeon will adhere to all NEDS surgical recovery standards and is expected to contribute to the mission of NEDS to increase the availability of organs suitable for transplantation by assisting in operational efficiencies and high-quality surgical recovery services.

Administrative:

• Available a minimum of 20 on-call days each month, including some weekends. An on-call day shall be defined as a 24-hour period.
• Extensive travel within New England to donor hospitals both by vehicle and aircraft.
• Participates in weekly quality review of donors and is a member of the NEDS Research Committee.
• Attends UNOS/OPTN Region 1 meetings including Regional Kidney and Liver Consortium meetings.

Clinical:

• Responsible for organ recovery procedures, both Donation after Brain Death (DBD) donors and Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) donors, ensuring they meet national standards and NEDS policies and procedures for organ recovery and transplantation.
• Assists in managing the donor hospital recovery process by collaborating with hospital staff in a respectful and professional manner.
• Responsible for performing organ biopsies and facilitating the interpretation of organ biopsies by donor hospital or other pathologists to determine suitability when biopsy requested.
• Responsible for inspecting the abdominal cavity for abnormalities that necessitate pathological evaluation.
• Responsible for recovering liver, pancreas, and kidneys from deceased donors for transplantation.
• Provides and documents an accurate and verifiable description of organ anatomy to include assessment of quality, anatomical abnormalities, and surgical damage. 
• Participates in verification of organ labeling to ensure accuracy and safety in accordance with NEDS policies.
• Recovers or assists in the recovery of heart valves and organs for research when requested.
• Assists the Organ Surgical Recovery Coordinator (OSRC) in perfusion and preservation.

Clinical Skills: Knowledge of relevant medical terminology and pathology, ability to translate complex medical information into easily understandable language for families and staff to understand.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills:  strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.  Ability to critically think, problem solve, and work productively both independently and as a team participant. Skilled in active listening and proven ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.

Emotional Intelligence:  Demonstrates the ability to understand, use and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and diffuse conflict.

Delegation:  Knows when and what to delegate.  Assigns tasks/assignments to match and individuals’ personal strengths.  Encourage employees to utilize critical thinking to solve their own problems. 

Initiative:  Is a self-start