Associate Medical Director - Physician - MD/DO - Foot and Ankle Surgeon

Position Summary

The Regional Associate Medical Director for Foot and Ankle Surgery and Podiatry provides physician leadership for clinical alignment, quality, access, operational consistency, and provider engagement across SSM Healths Wisconsin Region. In partnership with the Regional Clinical Program Medical Director for Musculoskeletal Services and operational leaders, this role supports orthopedic foot and ankle and podiatric providers, APPs, nursing, perioperative, ambulatory, wound care, rehabilitation, and related teams.

The leader helps establish a consistent regional structure for foot and ankle care, including meeting cadence, communication, escalation pathways, standardized care delivery, and support for regional wound care and limb salvage strategy development.

Administrative FTE and Term

This is anticipated to be a 0.10 administrative FTE leadership role, inclusive of orthopedic foot and ankle surgery and podiatry, with scope subject to regional need, provider complement, and applicable agreement terms.

Reporting Relationship

The role reports clinically to the Regional Clinical Program Medical Director for Musculoskeletal Services or designated Vice President, Clinical Programs, and collaborates closely with market physician leaders, medical directors, administrators, clinic managers, perioperative leaders, and regional medical group operations.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Specialty Leadership

• Serve as the regional physician leader for foot and ankle surgery and podiatry within the Musculoskeletal clinical program.
• Partner with clinical and operational dyads to set regional priorities, align local leadership roles, and represent the specialty in relevant quality, access, recruitment, perioperative, ambulatory, and operational forums.
• Maintain a consistent department meeting cadence and support clear communication across sites.

Quality, Safety, and Clinic Standardization

• Develop, review, and promote evidence-based standards, clinical pathways, and best practices for foot and ankle and podiatric care.
• Monitor quality, safety, patient experience, access, and outcome measures, and partner with Quality, Patient Safety, Infection Prevention, Perioperative Services, Rehabilitation, and Clinical Outcomes teams to close gaps.
• Support safety event review, peer learning, corrective action plans, perioperative optimization, postoperative management, and evidence-based protocols.

Access, Operations, and Practice Optimization

• Partner with operational leaders to improve access, referral pathways, triage expectations, scheduling templates, clinic workflows, and regional coordination.
• Support clear escalation pathways for operational issues, provider concerns, access barriers, and interdepartmental needs.
• Collaborate with perioperative, ambulatory, imaging, rehabilitation, orthotics, wound care, and primary care teams to reduce variation, improve efficiency, and strengthen consistency across the patient journey.

Provider Engagement, Performance, and Development

• Foster collaboration, professionalism, accountability, and engagement among foot and ankle surgery and podiatry providers.
• Participate in provider onboarding, mentorship, clinical integration, performance input, recognition, and leadership development.
• Assist with specialty-specific provider concerns, including practice variation, communication, documentation, and adherence to agreed-upon standards.

Recruitment, Workforce Planning, and Growth

• Support regional workforce planning, including provider need, market coverage, succession planning, recruitment, candidate evaluation, interview participation, and onboarding planning.
• Provide clinical input into growth opportunities, outreach, service line development, strategy, access expansion, regional coverage, and competitive positioning.

Communication and Meeting Cadence

• Lead or co-lead regular regional foot and ankle surgery and podiatry meetings.
• Facilitate bidirectional communication among frontline providers, site leaders, regional clinical program leadership, operational dyads, perioperative teams, APPs, clinic leaders, and market leaders.
• Share timely regional and system updates and escalate barriers, risks, quality concerns, and resource needs through established channels.

Strategic and Financial Stewardship

• Participate in strategic planning, budget discussions, capital planning, service line development, and review of productivity, access, quality, and financial performance data.
• Provide input into equipment, technology, clinical space, staffing, resource utilization, value improvement, variation reduction, and sustainable program growth.

Qualifications

• MD, DO, or DPM degree from an accredited program.
• Board certification or eligibility in orthopedic surgery with foot and ankle fellowship training, podiatric medicine and surgery, or equivalent applicable specialty.
• Active or eligible Wisconsin medical license and active medical staff membership where required.
• Demonstrated clinical excellence in foot and ankle surgery, podiatric medicine, or related musculoskeletal care.
• Physician leadership, committee leadership, quality improvement, operational, or administrative experience preferred.
• Ability to collaborate across specialties, markets, and disciplines.

Required Competencies

• Strong clinical judgment and commitment to evidence-based, patient-centered care.
• Ability to lead through influence in a matrixed regional structure.
• Effective communication, facilitation, conflict-resolution, and data-informed improvement skills.
• Commitment to provider engagement, teamwork, professionalism, accountability, and understanding of ambulatory, perioperative, referral, and specialty care workflows.
• Ability to balance clinical practice responsibilities with administrative leadership expectations.

Key Measures of Success

• Reliable regional meeting cadence and clear escalation pathways.
• Improved provider engagement, communication, access, referral management, and schedule optimization across markets.
• Progress on quality, safety, patient experience, operational metrics, recruitment, onboarding, provider development, and standardization of clinical pathways, perioperative practices, and workflows.

Working Relationships

• Regional Clinical Program Medical Director, Musculoskeletal Services; Vice President, Clinical Programs or designated senior clinical leader
• Regional and market medical group operations leaders, market physician leaders, and VPMAs
• Orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons, podiatrists, APPs, clinical staff, perioperative services, ambulatory operations, imaging, rehabilitation, wound care, and primary care leaders
• Quality, Patient Safety, Infection Prevention, Clinical Outcomes, Continuous Improvement, provider recruitment, human resources, finance, and administrative support teams

With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, SSM Health provides convenient access to high-quality community-based services as well as world-class academic medicine, clinical trials, and research studies. The organizations footprint includes hospitals, physician offices, outpatient and virtual care services, senior care, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a fully transparent pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company and an accountable care organization. As one of the largest employers in every community it serves, the organizations more than 40,000 team members and more than 15,000 providers are dedicated to fulfilling SSM Healths Mission: Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.

Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, is a vibrant city known for its blend of natural beauty and vibrant urban life. Nestled between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, the city is home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and enjoys a lively atmosphere fueled by innovation, education, and cultural diversity. Madison boasts an award-winning food scene, expansive beautiful park systems, and a commitment to sustainability that enhances the quality of life. Whether you're savoring local flavors, enjoying live music, or embracing the citys commitment to sustainability, you'll find a welcoming and dynamic environment that feels like home.

SSM Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. SSM Health provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. To view all of our current provider career opportunities, visit joinssmhealth.com.