About the Opportunity

The Department of Medical Sciences is recruiting a Director of Didactic Education (DDE) and Open Rank Clinical Professor in the Physician Assistant Program on our Seattle campus. The DDE serves as the academic leader of the didactic curriculum and is responsible for ensuring the quality, integration, assessment, and continuous improvement of all didactic educational experiences within the program. The Open Rank Clinical Professor is responsible for teaching in the didactic component of the Physician Assistant Program curriculum, ensuring the high educational and medical quality of the curriculum, program organization and administration, and student education and mentoring. The position also carries expectations for scholarship, including contributions to the advancement of PA education and clinical practice, as well as service to the program, university, and broader professional community. The Open Rank Clinical Professor will assist in maintaining accreditation standards and participating in any activities necessary to maintain Northeastern at the forefront of PA education. The position is a 52-week, 1.0 FTE, non-tenure track faculty position.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of a Master's degree in a field related to physician assistant practice or the education of physician assistant students; doctorate preferred
• Currently certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
• Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of Washington
• A minimum of three (3) years of clinical experience as a practicing clinician
• Experience in PA education (e.g., lecturer, preceptor, or core PA faculty member)
• Working knowledge of PA program accreditation and regulatory requirements, including familiarity with ARC-PA standards
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Proficiency with standard computer applications (e.g., word processing, email, spreadsheets, databases)
• Knowledge of legislative, regulatory, legal, and practice issues affecting PA education, students, and the PA profession

Principal Faculty Responsibilities

As a principal faculty member, the Director of Didactic Education shares responsibility, alongside the Program Director and other principal faculty members, for the development, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the PA program, including the following core functions:

• Develop, review, and revise the program's mission statement, goals, and competencies

• Serve on the admissions committee, including selecting applicants for admission

• Coordinate, teach, and instruct courses based on areas of content and clinical expertise

• Provide continuous development, maintenance, and evaluation of both didactic courses and clinical rotation sites

• Facilitate small group discussion sessions; participate in simulation, and physical diagnosis and skills labs

• Monitor, evaluate, and document student performance to ensure that they successfully achieve the criteria for successful completion of courses

• Assist in the development and implementation of remediation plans for students in the didactic and clinical years, as needed

• Advise and mentor students; participate in all aspects of retention and academic progression

• Design implement, coordinate, and evaluate the curriculum

• Participate in clinical site development

• Participate in clinical site monitoring, including performing site visits during clinical rotations

• Participate in all aspects of continuous quality improvement activities and using programmatic data to support ongoing program enhancement

• Participate in all aspects of Program administration

• Perform additional assignments at the direction of the Program Director of the Physician Assistant Program

Director of Didactic Education Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for the design, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the didactic curriculum
• Serve as the primary steward of the didactic curriculum, ensuring alignment with the program mission, competencies, graduate outcomes, and ARC-PA accreditation standards
• Develop, maintain, and continuously update the program's curriculum map to ensure appropriate sequencing, integration, progression, and documentation of curricular content and competencies
• Monitor the depth, breadth, sequencing, integration, and currency of the curriculum through ongoing review of course content, instructional methods, student outcomes, and programmatic assessment data; identify curricular gaps, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Chair the Academic Program Curriculum Committee and facilitate systematic curriculum review, documentation, and implementation of approved curricular changes
• Recruit, orient, support, and collaborate with course directors and instructional faculty to promote excellence and consistency in teaching, assessment, and course design
• Coordinate and oversee the didactic instructional schedule, including courses, laboratories, simulation activities, assessments, and other educational experiences.
• Ensure intentional integration of simulation-based education, procedural skills instruction, standardized patient experiences, and interprofessional education throughout the didactic curriculum in collaboration with faculty responsible for these educational activities
• Collaborate with the Director of Clinical Education to promote seamless integration between the didactic and clinical phases of the curriculum and ensure student readiness for supervised clinical practice experiences
• Collaborate with the Medical Director to ensure the medical accuracy, clinical relevance, and evidence-based nature of the didactic curriculum
• Assist with accreditation activities, including preparation of reports, documentation, and evidence related to the didactic curriculum, and participate in accreditation site visits and continuous quality improvement initiatives
• Promote innovation and educational excellence through the adoption of evidence-informed instructional strategies, educational technologies, and faculty development initiatives

Additional Information:

This position may be structured as a four-day academic schedule to accommodate one day per week of clinical practice.

Interested candidates should apply here with a curriculum vita that includes a list of publications, statements addressing the prompts below, and at least three references. Successful faculty at Northeastern are dynamic and innovative scholars with a record of research and teaching excellence and a commitment to fostering a sense of belonging among all members of the Northeastern community. Thus, strong candidates for this faculty position will have the experiences, knowledge, and skills to build their research, pedagogy, and curriculum in ways that reflect and enhance this commitment.

Please indicate how your experience, knowledge, and skills have prepared you to contribute to this work with written statements addressing the following prompt:

Teaching statement:

Please summarize your past instructional and mentorship experiences, your pedagogical philosophy, your plans/goals for teaching in the Bouvé College of Health, and your strategies for teaching and mentoring a cohort of graduate PA students.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by the law.

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Pay Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.