Physician, Clinical Decision Unit

City of Hope National Medical Center is seeking a full-time physician lead for the Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) with additional clinical shifts in the Evaluation and Treatment Center (ETC) in Duarte, CA. The role involves day-to-day clinical oversight of the CDU, collaborating with the ETC Medical Director to shape care standards, protocols, and APP practice, while delivering high-acuity oncology and hematology care. Available at the Assistant or Associate Clinical Professor level, this clinician-focused position offers a mix of clinical shifts in a single-location setting with no nights and limited weekend expectations.

Practice Info

• Single location; no nights and limited weekend expectations
• CDU: average of 8-10 observation patients daily, with 10-12 hours of APP coverage per day
• ETC: average of 1-1.5 patients per hour; very high acuity with a 60% admission rate
• 215-bed hospital, 10 operating rooms, 4 procedure rooms; 24/7 on-site specialist, surgical, and critical care support
• CDU is a short-stay observation unit overseen by the ETC, managing patients requiring 24 to 48 hours of extended evaluation or treatment
• ETC operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day clinical oversight of the quality, safety, and consistency of care delivered in the CDU
• Guide the development and ongoing refinement of evidence-based admission criteria, care pathways, and short-stay protocols
• Provide clinical direction and mentorship of the CDU APP team, including onboarding, education, and practice standards
• Monitor unit performance including length of stay, admission conversion, return visits, and throughput, and lead improvement work informed by those findings
• Serve as the day-to-day clinical point of contact between the CDU and the ETC, subspecialty services, hospital medicine, nursing, and case management
• Admit appropriate patients from the ETC and round daily during their 24- to 48-hour stay, reassess clinical status, review results, and update treatment plans with the CDU APP team
• Coordinate with subspecialty teams, case management, supportive care, social work, and outpatient clinicians, determine readiness for discharge or escalate to inpatient admission, and support post-discharge follow-up
• Evaluate and manage patients presenting with acute complications of cancer or its treatment on ETC shifts, stabilizing high-acuity oncology and hematology patients, initiating diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, collaborating with subspecialty teams, and determining disposition

Compensation

• Base Salary Range: (Assistant Level) $319K-$342K (Assistant Clinical to Associate Clinical Professor levels)
• Actual compensation will be adjusted for experience, training, hospital/community need and other factors

Benefits

• City of Hope Medical Group Benefits

Shift & Schedule

• Full-time employment
• Final CDU/ETC shift distribution will reflect program needs and the candidate's experience

Qualifications

• M.D. or D.O. from an accredited institution
• Board certified, with substantial clinical experience in the Emergency Department, Internal Medicine, or ICU
• Experience in an observation unit, emergency department, or comparable acute care setting; prior protocol development, quality improvement, or advanced practice provider supervision experience is valued
• Mission-minded, patient-centered clinician comfortable with high-acuity oncology and hematology patients, with strong communication and sound disposition judgment
• Academic record consistent with appointment at the Assistant or Associate Professor level at City of Hope National Medical Center
• Possession of, or eligibility for, an unrestricted medical license in the State of California