Clinical Director, Distributed Veterinary Teaching Program (DVTP)

Utah State University•Logan, UT

44d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Utah State University seeks applicants for the position of Clinical Director of the Distributed Veterinary Teaching Program (DVTP). The Clinical Director is the senior veterinary faculty leader and administrator responsible for the clinical, operational, and personnel functions of the DVTP. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs, the Director directly supervises the DVTP Program Coordinator and Clinical Relations Veterinarians and provides overall leadership for the personnel, processes, partnerships, and quality-assurance activities required to deliver a high-quality distributed clinical year. The Director integrates the student-facing and partner-facing functions of the program. The DVTP Program Coordinator leads student placement coordination, scheduling and logistical support, communications, documentation, records, database maintenance, and general program administration. Clinical Relations Veterinarians support preceptor readiness, preceptor training and development, clinical-site monitoring and troubleshooting, and alignment of clinical learning environments with contemporary standards of veterinary practice. The Clinical Director ensures that these functions operate as a coordinated, accountable, and responsive system. This is a Logan-based position. The Clinical Director's primary office and duty station will be in the Veterinary Medical Education (VME) Building on the Utah State University Logan campus. The position is not designed as a remote or regionally based appointment. The successful candidate will join the College at a pivotal stage in the development of Utah's first four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. USU's distributed clinical education model places veterinary students in carefully selected veterinary practices, hospitals, diagnostic facilities, shelters, ambulatory services, and other clinical environments where they learn under the supervision of practicing veterinarians and USU faculty. The Clinical Director works closely with the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs, faculty instructors of record, Practice-Ready Advisors, curriculum leaders, and other College personnel.

Requirements

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), or equivalent veterinary degree.
Eligibility for appointment to the faculty of Utah State University at the Clinical Assistant Professor level or higher.
At least seven years of professional veterinary experience following receipt of the veterinary degree.
Current licensure to practice veterinary medicine in a U.S. state or eligibility to obtain appropriate veterinary licensure as required for assigned duties.
Demonstrated veterinary professional leadership.
Demonstrated supervisory, management, or team-leadership experience.
Experience supervising, mentoring, teaching, or supporting the professional development of veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary technicians, staff, or other members of veterinary teams.
Demonstrated ability to organize and coordinate complex programs involving multiple personnel and external partners.
Strong interpersonal, organizational, and written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to build productive professional relationships and address complex or sensitive issues constructively.
Ability and willingness to travel approximately 20-30% of work time, including occasional overnight travel.
Valid driver’s license to perform essential job responsibilities, such as driving university vehicles and transporting materials
Facility with contemporary communication, educational, and information technologies necessary to support a geographically distributed clinical program.

Nice To Haves

Leadership experience in veterinary clinical education, distributed veterinary education, community-based veterinary education, clinical-year administration, or a comparable professional program.
Experience directly supervising professional staff or faculty.
Significant experience as a veterinary preceptor, clinical educator, medical director, practice owner, practice leader, or clinical program administrator.
Experience managing teams with both student-facing and partner-facing responsibilities.
Experience developing or managing partnerships between veterinary educational institutions and private, public, nonprofit, or corporate veterinary organizations.
Demonstrated expertise in clinical teaching, workplace-based learning, competency-based veterinary education, or assessment of clinical performance.
Experience developing or delivering faculty or preceptor-development programming.
Practice-management or veterinary organizational leadership experience.
Familiarity with AVMA Council on Education accreditation standards and expectations relevant to clinical education.
Experience with clinical-program quality assurance or continuous quality improvement.
Demonstrated experience managing difficult clinical, personnel, student, or partner-related issues in a professional environment.
Experience using educational or clinical-program data to evaluate outcomes and guide improvement.
Board certification in an AVMA-recognized veterinary specialty.
Evidence of professional productivity in veterinary education or clinical practice.
Demonstrated ability to build consensus among individuals and organizations with differing perspectives and priorities.

Responsibilities

Evaluation and monitoring of new and existing clinical training sites
Preceptor orientation, training, development, and support
Relationship development and maintenance with affiliated veterinary instructional partners
Follow-up on clinical-site, preceptor, or student-learning concerns
Quality-assurance and continuous-improvement activities
Representation of the College at partner and professional meetings
Provide leadership for the quality, consistency, and continued development of veterinary clinical education delivered through the Distributed Veterinary Teaching Program.
Develop, implement, evaluate, and continuously improve clinical educational experiences in collaboration with College faculty, Clinical Relations Veterinarians, preceptors, and affiliated veterinary instructional partners.
Lead the development and implementation of expectations for workplace-based veterinary instruction and clinical supervision.
Provide, coordinate, and evaluate initial and ongoing training for veterinary preceptors, including clinical teaching, supervision, feedback, assessment, student safety, and preceptor responsibilities.
Mentor veterinarians serving as clinical preceptors and support their development as effective clinical educators.
Work with Clinical Relations Veterinarians to support preceptor readiness, clinical-site readiness, clinical teaching quality, contemporary standards of practice, and resolution of site or preceptor concerns.
Foster productive relationships with affiliated veterinary instructional partners and other external stakeholders to provide high-quality and appropriately varied clinical learning opportunities.
Participate in the evaluation and monitoring of potential and existing clinical training sites and recommend improvements when needed.
Collaborate with faculty instructors of record and Practice-Ready Advisors to support consistent assessment of student clinical performance and progressive development toward practice readiness.
Help establish and maintain consistent expectations for student supervision, feedback, entrustment, clinical responsibility, and professional behavior across distributed sites.
Participate in the development and refinement of clinical-year curriculum, orientation, policies, procedures, and instructional materials.
Use student outcomes, preceptor feedback, site evaluations, program data, and other evidence to support continuous quality improvement.
Participate in structured didactic, experiential, and clinical instruction as appropriate to the needs of the curriculum.
Maintain currency in veterinary clinical practice, veterinary medical education, workplace-based assessment, and emerging approaches to clinical teaching.
Contribute to professional productivity appropriate for a clinical faculty appointment, which may include educational scholarship, presentations, continuing education, publications, grants, development of educational resources, or other contributions to veterinary education.
Directly supervise the DVTP Program Coordinator and Clinical Relations Veterinarians and provide administrative oversight for assigned DVTP support personnel.
Establish work priorities, assign responsibilities, manage performance, provide coaching and professional development, and conduct or participate in formal performance evaluations.
Provide oversight of the Program Coordinator's supervision of assigned support staff.
Lead regular DVTP team meetings and establish clear workflows, accountability, and communication expectations.
Ensure effective coordination between student placement, scheduling, documentation, and program-administration functions and clinical partner, preceptor, site-readiness, and quality-assurance functions.
Establish priorities for clinical-site development, monitoring, and partner support in alignment with program needs.
Manage and assess staffing, workflow, operational, and resource needs and recommend improvements to the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs.
Address personnel, programmatic, clinical-site, and preceptor-related issues within the Director's area of responsibility.
Ensure timely escalation of significant academic, personnel, safety, accreditation, or partner concerns through appropriate College channels.
Build and sustain a team culture characterized by professionalism, responsiveness, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Ensure that responsibilities delegated across the DVTP team are clearly defined and effectively integrated.
Provide leadership and oversight for the operational and clinical functions of the Distributed Veterinary Teaching Program.
Work collaboratively with the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs to implement the strategic direction of the clinical program.
Support compliance with applicable AVMA Council on Education accreditation standards, policies, and procedures related to distributed clinical education.
Participate in the development, review, and implementation of standards for approval and continued monitoring of affiliated veterinary instructional partners.
Support College committees responsible for oversight and approval of clinical training sites and experiences.
Develop and maintain relationships with veterinarians, practice leaders, professional organizations, veterinary employers, and other stakeholders throughout Utah and the Intermountain Region.
Represent the College of Veterinary Medicine in interactions with clinical partners and the broader veterinary profession.
Provide veterinary leadership in addressing concerns involving clinical sites, preceptors, clinical standards, or the quality of the student learning environment.
Ensure that clinical-site requirements, agreements, training, documentation, data, and operational processes remain aligned across the DVTP.
Collaborate with appropriate College and University units on clinical-program development, curriculum, policy, and implementation.
Participate in departmental, college, and university governance and other service activities appropriate to faculty rank and appointment.
Contribute to efforts that strengthen the visibility, reputation, and professional network of the USU College of Veterinary Medicine.