Medical Director role outline tool

The Medical Director role outline tool is designed to assist Victoria’s rural and regional health services identify the roles and responsibilities, personal skills and qualities, qualifications, resources and conditions for the positions of medical director and deputy medical director.

The tool includes options to choose from a range of recommended engagement models, roles and responsibilities which sector consultation identified as being suited to the Victorian health service system and out different types or rural and regional health services.

Why should you use this tool

In 2019, Victoria’s rural and regional health services, key stakeholders, consumers and carers and the Department of Health collaborated to research what the content of a medical director outline should include in a Victorian rural and regional health service. The aim of the collaboration was to develop an electronic tool for health service chief executive officers and boards to aid them in building an evidence-based role outline for the medical director or deputy medical director role at their type of health service.

The tool is designed to be used within the Victorian public hospital system and acknowledges the variation within the role at Multipurpose, Small rural, Local, Sub-regional and regional health services.

How to use this tool

Use the Medical Director role outline tool to populate a recommended role outline for the medical director or deputy medical director role for your health service(s).

Using the tool provides you with the opportunity to consider the model that best aligns with your medical workforce and/or visiting medical officer workforce; multidisciplinary workforce; executive officer team; health service’s scope of practice; your community’s health status and health care access; rural and regional health partnership participation; and your performance, quality and safety regulatory and policy commitments. Importantly, it is a tool which your health service can modify and adapt to suit your needs and is based on the evidence for this role both nationally and internationally.

You should use the tool in conjunction with the Engagement model guide as it maps the option pathway for the engagement model best suited to your type of Victorian rural and regional health service. The descriptions in the tool identify what is important to consider when making your choices at each section with a range of options aligning to Victoria’s different rural and regional health services.