About the Opportunity

The Department of Medical Sciences is recruiting a Director of Clinical Education (DCE) and Open Rank Clinical Professor in the Physician Assistant Program on our Seattle campus. The DCE and Open Rank Clinical Professor provides strategic and operational leadership and oversight of the clinical component of the Physician Assistant Program curriculum, including development and maintenance of clinical partnerships, oversight of supervised clinical practice experiences, clinical year organization and administration, and student education and mentoring. The DCE will collaborate with program leadership to maintain compliance with ARC-PA standards, advance innovative approaches to clinical education, and ensure the highest quality clinical learning experiences for students and clinical partners. 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:

• Master's degree or higher in a health profession, health sciences, education, or a related field; doctoral degree preferred

• Current professional licensure, certification, or other credentials appropriate to the candidate's discipline. Physician assistant candidates should maintain

• NCCPA certification; physician candidates should hold board certification through an ABMS or AOA-recognized specialty board

• Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of Washington

• Minimum of two (2) years of clinical practice experience in a healthcare profession

• Experience in physician assistant education, including service as faculty, clinical coordinator, preceptor, program administrator, or a comparable role within an accredited PA program

• 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 clinical education, students, and the physician assistant profession

• Ability to travel to clinical sites

Principal Faculty Responsibilities:

As a principal faculty member, the Director of Clinical 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:

• Developing, reviewing, and revising 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
• Designing, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating the curriculum
• Provide continuous development, maintenance, and evaluation of both didactic courses and clinical rotation sites
• Participate in clinical site development
• Participate in clinical site monitoring, including performing site visits during clinical rotations
• Participating 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 Clinical Education Responsibilities:

In addition to principal faculty responsibilities, the Director of Clinical Education provides leadership in the following areas:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for all aspects of the clinical phase of the curriculum, including planning, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement, with particular attention to ARC-PA standards governing supervised clinical practice experiences

• Provide continuous development, maintenance, and evaluation of clinical rotation sites, with an emphasis on establishing new clinical partnerships and sustaining existing relationships, ensuring an adequate number of sites that reflect quality and quantity of learning experiences (including continuity of care, common diagnoses, care across the lifespan, and varied healthcare delivery settings)

• Coordinate and perform site visits to PA students during clinical rotations

• Coordinate the completion and documentation of all clinical site requirements, including affiliation agreements, background checks, and immunization records

• Develop, support, and retain clinical preceptors through ongoing communication, orientation, faculty development, and recognition efforts that promote high-quality clinical teaching experiences

• Serve as the operational lead for the clinical education team, coordinating workflows and supporting team members in their clinical education responsibilities

• Develop criteria, policies, and procedures governing supervised clinical practice experiences consistent with ARC-PA standards

• Develop criteria and procedures for clinical site selection, utilization, and assessment consistent with ARC-PA Standards

• Monitor, evaluate, and document student performance during supervised clinical practice experiences

• Review the adequacy of diagnosis and procedure log data

• Review and analyze student evaluations from preceptors and clinical instructors

• Assist in determining final grades for clinical rotations and end-of-rotation examinations

• Oversee the coordination of end-of-rotation examinations and return-to-campus days

• Utilize clinical performance data to support continuous quality improvement and accreditation reporting

• Assist the Program Director with preparation of the continuous self-study, with primary responsibility for documentation and analysis of the clinical phase of training

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 prompt 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 a written statement 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.