Kellie Leitch is heading south.

The Simcoe-Grey MP told Simcoe.com she has accepted a position as chief of pediatric orthopedics as the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss.

Leitch, who is retiring as MP after an eight-year tenure, said the position will also see her teach in the business school and develop the health innovation centre at the university.

“The University of Mississippi is a state-run institution, so every child that comes in the door gets taken care of,” she said. “They have a serious need; they are one of the poorest states in the union."

She said not only will she be giving care to an under-serviced population, but the position will also provide her with the tools needed for the job, such as operating time.

Leitch also runs a clinic in Toronto that’s affiliated with the University of Toronto and will continue to do so.

She said one of the major reasons she took the job is the lack of operating room time in Canada.

She said she could see a child in clinic, but would then have to refer them to the Hospital for Sick Children, where they would meet with another doctor who would then operate on them.

“Here in Canada, increasingly, about 150 orthopedic surgeons do not have operating room time,” she said. “It would be like an accountant showing up to work without being given pencils, pens and a computer. You can see a child in clinic, but I can’t actually do the work on the child.”

Leitch said one of the reasons she decided to retire from politics was because she wanted to improve her skill set as a physician.