Assistant Professor, Physician Assistant Studies

University of North Dakota•Grand Forks, ND

30d•$110,000 - $145,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The UND Physician Assistant Program was established in 1970 at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine, in response to health manpower shortages and the lack of access to primary health care in rural communities. Initially, the Program was designed to build upon the existing clinical skills of independent duty medical corpsmen returning from the Vietnam conflict to prepare them for a role in civilian primary health care delivery. The Program adopted an adult learning, competency-based curriculum (MEDEX) developed by the University of Washington. In 1972, the Program turned to experienced registered nurses for its applicant pool with the goal to expand and extend the role of RNs in community-oriented rural and underserved primary care practice settings. From then until January 2004, a Physician Assistant Certificate was given to all who successfully completed the 12 month Program. In 2003, the Program moved to a graduate level program offering a Master of Physician Assistant Studies. It then progressed to 24 months in length to facilitate more instruction in basic sciences as the foundation of medical practice. In 2006, the Program expanded the applicant pool by accepting not only registered nurses, but experienced clinical health care professionals from other disciplines with the same philosophy to expand the health care role of those in rural and underserved communities. Today, the UND Department of Physician Assistant Studies offers a unique hybrid of online coursework combined with alternating classroom and clinical experiences to award a Master of Physician Assistant (MPAS) degree. This innovative curricular design provides exceptional comprehensive physician assistant education and helps solidify skills and concepts. For more information regarding our program, admissions requirements and curriculum, see our website.

Requirements

Graduate level Physician Assistant from an accredited PA program and current NCCPA certification
Demonstrated successful experience as a PA-C, preferably in primary health care
Licensure (unrestricted) or licensure-eligible as a PA-C in North Dakota
Successful completion of a Criminal History Background Check
Interest in areas that align with our program mission
Medical proficiency in clinical skills and abilities to function within one's primary care provider role
General knowledge and proficiency in classroom instruction, including on-line instruction
Knowledge of the primary care role of the PA and the role of various health care providers in the health care system
Proficiency in upgrading skills and knowledge required to retain eligibility of professional certification
Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational
Willingness to pursue a doctoral degree, if applicable

Nice To Haves

Previous teaching experience
Experience with scholarship and professional development

Responsibilities

Course instruction or co-instruction, including the design, development, implementation, coordination and evaluation of individual courses within the program curriculum as assigned.
Contribute to the instruction of clinical skills and simulation activities, lab activities and assessments.
Classroom and small group instruction in the PA program in areas of expertise.
Participate in the development, review, and revision of the program's mission statement, goals, competencies, and program-defined outcomes.
Participate in department committees per the role and responsibilities outlined by each committee (admissions, assessment, and curriculum) and as aligned with the program's mission and goals.
Provide advising and academic counseling to students.
Develop and participate in student assessment, evaluation and remediation.
Actively engage in the recruitment and development of clinical sites, and preceptors to allow clinical students to meet program learning outcomes of supervised clinical practice experiences, including ARC-PA defined encounters, populations, conditions, settings, and specialties.
Ensure clinical instructional faculty (preceptors) meet ARC-PA and program-defined criteria.
Conduct and review frequent, objective and documented evaluations of student performance in meeting outcomes for clinical practice experience components.
Assist in clinical placement and administrative management of scheduling students for clinical experiences.
Participate in site visits to evaluate students, preceptors, and clinical sites during the clinical phase of the program.
Participate in ongoing program evaluation and accreditation activities and processes.
Scholarly activity in areas of research interest and within the mission of the department.
Participate in grant related projects as assigned.
Contribute to department meetings and serve on Department, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and University committees and activities as requested.
Engage in professional advocacy for the PA profession and the UND PA program.
Ensure that academic standards and policies and procedures are upheld by faculty, staff, and students.
Exemplify and model the ethical conduct required of the PA profession and promote professionalism within the department, clinical community, university, and profession.