Assistant Dean for Clinical Education

Salary Information: Annual  Salary Range Minimum $147,900.00 - Maximum $251,400.00

Hiring Rate: Commensurate with qualifications and experience

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) was founded as a 501(c) (3) non-profit medical institution in 2005 aimed at increasing access to health care in medically underserved areas of the Pacific Northwest.

The University currently offers the degrees of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Master of Biomedical Sciences, and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy enrolling over 550 students annually. Interprofessional education partnerships with other universities adds another 100 students to the population. The campus includes 300 employees with academic programming spread over a five-state region.

PNWU is located in Yakima, WA, a city of approximately 95,000 located in the south central part of the state near the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in a major agricultural and outdoor recreation region. It is approximately 140 miles from Seattle, 170 miles from Portland, and 200 miles from Spokane. The Yakima Valley is a wonderful place to live, work and play. For more information, visit https://www.visityakima.com/. 

General Summary:

The Assistant Dean for Clinical Education and Faculty Development serve as a key leader within the Office of Clinical Education, working in close collaboration with the Associate Dean for Clinical Education and the Executive Director of Clinical Education. This position supports the administration, strategic direction, and continuous quality improvement of the geographically distributed clinical education program.

This Assistant Dean collaborates broadly across the Clinical Education team, clinical faculty, preceptors, students, and community partners across the university’s service region to ensure access to high-quality clinical training experiences. The role emphasizes clinical rotation availability, clinical faculty development, preceptor engagement, accreditation alignment, and operational excellence in clinical rotations.

Primary responsibilities include leadership in clinical faculty credentialing and promotion processes, oversight of rotation site evaluation and approval, coordination of regional site visits, and partnership in developing and executing a comprehensive strategy for clinical placements across regions. The Assistant Dean plays a central role in ensuring that clinical education activities meet accreditation standards and institutional priorities.

The position requires strong collaboration with internal university departments, including Registrar, Marketing, and Development—to support initiatives that impact clinical education. Assistant Dean contributes to institutional reporting, including reports for accreditation bodies (e.g., COCA), the Board of Trustees, and other external stakeholders.

Assistant Dean also contributes to student success through targeted mentorship within their clinical specialty, limited teaching in centralized didactics and transition-to-clerkship activities, and periodic coverage of student-facing responsibilities as needed. In conjunction with the Associate Dean, the Assistant Dean represents the College in institutional and external forums and serves on committees that advance the mission of the College of Osteopathic Medicine.. 

Essential Job Functions

Administrative:

• Work closely with the Executive Director of Clinical Education for administrative oversight and regional site visit planning
• Assist in the supervision of personnel for the department of clinical education and the regional sites
• Promote the interests and welfare of the Office (faculty, staff, and students)
• Provide faculty development to assistant deans and clinical faculty
• Assist in curriculum development and delivery for third- and fourth year students 
• Work collaboratively with affiliated regional clinical /sites including hospitals, clinics, and AHEC partners in the utilization of shared resources, faculty and administrative expertise
• Serve as one of the points of contact for students, faculty and administration to the regional sites
• Assist in developing and maintaining postgraduate career planning and advising program for medical students in collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Graduate Medical Education
• Provide input of agenda and oversight in the planning and execution of campus meetings of the COM clinical education team
• Advise and monitor the scheduling and assessment of student rotations
• Monitor and address academic or disciplinary problems arising with third- and fourth-year medical students
• Assist with monitoring and addressing concerns related to clinical preceptors or rotation quality
• Assist in overseeing the evaluation system for the regional clinical sites including student/faculty/site evaluation
• Recommend clinical faculty for appointment and promotion
• Ensure faculty development needs are met within the clinical campus system
• Participate in CME creation for COM clinical faculty development programs
• Promote clinical campus faculty participation in major student events (white coat, commencement, and hooding ceremonies)

Teaching:

• Maintain academic standards and quality within educational programs
• Work collaboratively with the Associate Dean for Preclinical Education, Associate Dean for Clinical Education, and the Assistant Deans for Clinical Education to provide curricular integration across all four years of medical school’s educational program
• Assist with curricular content and incorporation of clinical competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities
• Ensure the integration of osteopathic curriculum into core and elective rotations
• Participate in weekly didactics sessions through the Clinical Didactics course (CLIN 704) and in the annual Clerkship Prep course (FM 603)

Faculty Development:

• Recommend adjunct clinical faculty for appointment and promotion
• Ensure faculty development needs are met within the clinical campus system
• Participate in CME creation for COM clinical faculty development programs
• Promote clinical campus faculty participation in major student events (white coat, commencement, and hooding ceremonies) 

Research and Scholarly Activity:

• Promote research and scholarly activity in clinical education 
• Actively seek external funding for research and scholarly needs as may be feasible
• Pursue programs of research development and other scholarly activity for the Department and the COM as may become feasible 

Service to the College and University Community:

• Serve as a faculty resource
• Serve on committees of the COM at the discretion of the Dean
• Serve on University committees at the discretion of the President
• Demonstrate concern for society by being active in community affairs
• Practice and uphold the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion within osteopathic clinical medical education
• Serve as consultant to the university and civic groups or individuals in areas of expertise
• Be active in regional and/or national professional organizations in your specialty or discipline and champion students to these organizations where appropriate 
• Performs other related duties as assigned and based on departmental need

Standard Institutional Requirements:

• Performs job duties in accordance with safety, legal, and regulatory requirements; University policy and procedures; and accepted business practices.
• Acts with the highest level of professional ethical standards in all aspects of job performance, in accordance with the mission and values of PNWU.
• Understands and adheres to accreditation standards and expectations specific to the department.

This description is a general statement of the major duties and responsibilities performed on a regular and continuous basis, with or without reasonable accommodation. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all functions and does not exclude other duties as assigned. Job descriptions are reviewed regularly and may be updated to reflect changing institutional needs.

Education, Experience and Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

Required Education and Experience 

  To perform the essential functions of this position, the incumbent must have:

• A Doctoral Degree (DO) or MD AND 4-6 years of relevant experience 
• An equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the essential functions of the position.

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Strong organization, interpersonal, and planning skills 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills 
• Ability to work in a team and flexibility to work with others in a variety of circumstances 
• Ability to problem solve by analyzing issues and creating action plans
• Ability to manage projects and people and prioritize and self-direct workflow
• Ability to work with and manage different computer programs and databases
• Ability to schedule activities and/or meetings

Benefit Package (benefit eligible is at least .5 FTE):

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Long-term Disability
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Vacation
• Sick Time
• Wellness Reimbursement

For information about life in Yakima visit our PNWU page. 

PNWU is a drug-free workplace, equal opportunity employer and educational institution. To request this publication in an alternative format, or to apply in an alternative format, please call Human Resources, 509.452.5100.