Assistant or Associate Dean of Primary Care

Description

About Arkansas Colleges of Health Education

Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) is a private, non-profit, graduate-level health sciences institution located on over 500 acres in Fort Smith, Arkansas. ACHE’s service-driven mission is to educate and train a diverse group of competent and compassionate healthcare professionals; to create health and research support facilities; and to provide healthy living environments to improve the lives of others. Founded in 2014, ACHE has experienced rapid growth and is poised to be a leader in healthcare education for years to come. ACHE is the first and only private institution in Arkansas that is dedicated solely to healthcare and wellness, and maintains a strong commitment to the surrounding community.

About Fort Smith and the Arkansas River Valley

Fort Smith is a vibrant community of around 90,000, with a low cost of living and ample recreational opportunities. Located in the beautiful Arkansas River Valley at the foothills of the Ozark mountains, Fort Smith is nestled between the Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests. The region provides hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, hang gliding, whitewater rafting, and camping all within a short drive. In addition, the city supports a variety of cultural attractions, including museums, theaters, an award-winning symphony, and two historic entertainment districts.

LOCATION 

This position is fully on-site and requires a regular presence in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Remote or hybrid work is not available for this position. 

JOB SUMMARY

The Assistant or Associate Dean of Primary Care is a senior academic leader responsible for advancing ARCOM’s primary care mission across education, clinical service, faculty development, scholarship, community engagement, and workforce development. The position provides strategic and administrative leadership for the Department of Primary Care and ensures that its programs, faculty, resources, and outcomes align with ARCOM’s mission, strategic priorities, and commitment to osteopathic medical education.

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Clinical Medicine, the Assistant or Associate Dean leads the planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of primary care education throughout the undergraduate medical education continuum. The position works collaboratively with the Associate Dean of Biomedical Sciences to develop, implement, and continuously improve an integrated curriculum that connects foundational biomedical sciences with clinical medicine and osteopathic principles and practice. The position also oversees departmental faculty and assigned staff; supports student achievement and professional development; and strengthens partnerships that improve access to primary care and expands training opportunities in rural and underserved communities.

The successful candidate must hold the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and model the principles and practice of osteopathic medicine. Appointment at the Assistant Dean or Associate Dean level will be based on the candidate’s leadership experience, academic accomplishments, scope of prior responsibility, and qualifications under institutional appointment criteria. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Academic and Strategic Leadership

• Provide vision and senior academic leadership for the Department of Primary Care in alignment with ARCOM’s mission, strategic plan, and institutional priorities.
• Develop, implement, assess, and periodically revise a comprehensive departmental strategic plan with measurable goals for education, clinical service, faculty development, scholarship, community impact, and workforce development.
• Serve as a member of the Dean’s academic leadership structure and advise senior leadership on primary care education, clinical workforce needs, faculty capacity, student outcomes, and opportunities for program growth.
• Translate institutional priorities into clear departmental goals, operating plans, performance expectations, and continuous improvement activities.
• Represent Primary Care in institutional planning, accreditation, policy development, interprofessional initiatives, and external partnerships.

Departmental Leadership and Faculty Administration

• Provide administrative leadership, supervision, mentorship, and professional development for Primary Care faculty and assigned staff.
• Recruit, select, onboard, retain, and develop qualified faculty who support the educational, clinical, scholarly, and service missions of the department and college.
• Assign, direct, coordinate, and evaluate faculty teaching, advising, clinical service, scholarship, and institutional service workloads in accordance with college policy.
• Conduct or oversee annual faculty and staff performance evaluations; establish improvement plans when needed; and make recommendations regarding appointment, reappointment, promotion, recognition, professional development, or corrective action.
• Promote a department culture characterized by accountability, collaboration, professionalism, inclusion, teaching excellence, mentorship, and continuous improvement.
• Develop succession plans, leadership capacity, cross-training, and appropriate delegation within the department.

Curriculum and Educational Program Oversight

• Provide leadership for the design, delivery, integration, assessment, and continuous improvement of primary care content across the osteopathic medical curriculum.
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean of Biomedical Sciences to develop, implement, assess, and continuously improve an integrated curriculum that intentionally connects foundational biomedical sciences with clinical application throughout the medical education continuum.
• Ensure meaningful integration of clinical medicine, biomedical sciences, osteopathic principles and practice, population health, preventive medicine, behavioral health, health systems science, and social determinants of health.
• Oversee the quality and alignment of classroom, laboratory, simulation, standardized-patient, clinical-skills, and experiential learning activities assigned to the department.
• Collaborate with curriculum leadership, course directors, department chairs, clinical education leaders, and faculty to ensure appropriate sequencing, coverage, instructional quality, and outcome assessment.
• Use student performance data, course and faculty evaluations, board outcomes, accreditation findings, and stakeholder feedback to guide curricular and instructional improvements.
• Ensure that all primary care curricula, clinical encounters, simulation activities, standardized-patient experiences, assessments, and other educational experiences are appropriately designed, mapped, delivered, and evaluated to meet the AOA Core Competencies, ARCOM curricular outcomes, applicable entrustable professional activities, and accreditation expectations.

Student Success and Professional Development

• Provide leadership for student advising, mentoring, career exploration, and professional identity formation related to primary care specialties and osteopathic practice.
• Participate in student assessment and evaluation and ensure that feedback, academic support, and remediation within the department are timely, consistent, and educationally sound.
• Maintain appropriate availability for student consultation and ensure that departmental faculty provide accessible advising and mentoring.
• Support student participation in primary care interest groups, scholarly projects, community service, professional organizations, and leadership activities.
• Partner with Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Academic Success, Clinical Medicine, and other offices to identify and address barriers to student achievement.

Clinical Education and Primary Care Workforce Development

• Strengthen the continuum between undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and primary care practice through collaborative programming and partnerships.
• Work with Clinical Medicine and Clinical Rotations leadership to support high-quality primary care clinical experiences, identify faculty and preceptor needs, and expand training capacity.
• Develop relationships with physicians, residency programs, hospitals, clinics, community health centers, health systems, and public agencies that advance primary care education and workforce goals.
• Promote student interest and preparation for careers in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and other primary care disciplines, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to strengthen residency development, retention of graduates in the region, and pathways from medical school into primary care practice.
• Provide clinical supervision and leadership for approved student outreach, service-learning, interprofessional, and community health initiatives.

Accreditation Assessment and Quality Improvement

• Ensure departmental compliance with applicable institutional policies, accreditation standards, curricular requirements, and documentation expectations.
• Lead departmental preparation for accreditation reports, site visits, self-studies, program reviews, and requests for evidence related to primary care education and faculty resources.
• Establish and monitor performance indicators for curriculum quality, faculty effectiveness, student achievement, clinical engagement, scholarship, and community impact.
• Develop and implement corrective or improvement plans based on assessment findings, accreditation feedback, institutional priorities, and identified risks.
• Maintain accurate and timely departmental records, reports, faculty documentation, workload data, and evidence of outcomes.

Budget Operations and Resource Stewardship

• Develop, administer, and monitor the departmental budget in alignment with institutional priorities and approved financial practices.
• Evaluate staffing, facilities, technology, simulation, clinical, and instructional resource needs and make evidence-based recommendations to senior leadership.
• Ensure effective, efficient, and responsible use of departmental resources and establish operational processes that support quality, compliance, and timely service.
• Prepare administrative reports, budget proposals, workforce plans, accreditation documentation, and other materials requested by institutional leadership.

Clinical Practice Scholarship and Faculty Development

• Maintain professional competence, medical licensure, board certification, continuing medical education, and credentials required for assigned clinical and academic responsibilities.
• Provide professional and clinical service in a setting consistent with training, licensure, specialty, and institutional needs, as assigned.
• Develop and maintain an active professional portfolio that includes teaching, leadership development, scholarly activity or research, clinical service, and institutional or community service.
• Promote and support faculty and student scholarship, research, quality improvement, presentations, publications, and grant development related to primary care and medical education.
• Create or facilitate faculty development in teaching, assessment, feedback, advising, scholarship, leadership, and osteopathic medical education.

Institutional and External Service

• Serve on college and institutional committees, councils, task forces, and search or accreditation teams as assigned.
• Represent ARCOM with professional associations, healthcare organizations, governmental or community partners, and regional primary care initiatives.
• Advance ARCOM’s mission and reputation through professional service, community engagement, scholarly contribution, and advocacy for osteopathic and primary care education.
• Demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism, ethical conduct, confidentiality, collegiality, and responsible leadership.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Associate Dean of Clinical Medicine, Dean of ARCOM, or designee.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND CREDENTIALS

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• Terminal degree (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) with current Board Certification in appropriate area of specialization if applicable.
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from a COCA-accredited college of osteopathic medicine.
• Current board certification in an appropriate primary care specialty by an AOA- or ABMS-recognized certifying board, or eligibility to obtain and maintain board certification within an institutionally approved timeframe.
• Current unrestricted medical license in at least one United States jurisdiction and eligibility for unrestricted medical licensure in Arkansas.
• Eligibility for medical staff privileges and coverage by the college’s professional liability insurer, when applicable.
• Good standing with all applicable licensing, credentialing, regulatory, and governmental bodies.
• Demonstrated leadership, administrative responsibility, and productivity in academic medicine, clinical practice, medical education, research or scholarship, or a related professional setting.
• Experience teaching and assessing medical students or residents and demonstrated commitment to osteopathic medical education.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least five years of progressively responsible academic or clinical leadership experience, including three years as a full-time faculty member at a college of osteopathic medicine, college of medicine, academic health center, or residency program.
• Prior service as a department chair, assistant dean, associate dean, program director, course director, or comparable academic leader.
• Record of achievement in curriculum leadership, faculty development, accreditation, primary care workforce development, clinical partnerships, or program growth.
• Demonstrated scholarly productivity through publications, presentations, funded projects, educational innovation, clinical quality improvement, or medical education research.
• Academic credentials and accomplishments appropriate for faculty appointment at the associate professor or professor level.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Comprehensive understanding of osteopathic medical education, primary care practice, curriculum design, learner assessment, accreditation, and academic quality improvement.
• Ability to lead faculty and staff, manage performance, delegate effectively, resolve conflict, develop talent, and guide organizational change.
• Ability to use data and sound judgment to establish priorities, assess outcomes, solve complex problems, manage risk, and make decisions with institutional impact.
• Ability to build productive relationships with students, faculty, administrators, clinicians, residency leaders, health systems, community organizations, and external stakeholders.
• Strong written, oral, interpersonal, public-speaking, negotiation, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple complex priorities, budgets, projects, and deadlines with appropriate attention to detail and accountability.
• Proficiency with standard office, learning, assessment, reporting, and collaboration technologies and the ability to adapt to new systems.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and protect private, sensitive, and regulated information.

ABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES ESSENTIAL TO THE FUNCTION OF THE JOB

Communication and Comprehension

ACHE is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and does not discriminate with regard to applicants or employees with disabilities and will make reasonable accommodations when necessary. The following are essential abilities and physical requirements for all positions at the college.

• Ability to orally communicate effectively with others with strong interpersonal skills and customer service orientation.
• Ability to work cooperatively with colleagues and supervisory staff at all levels.
• Ability to understand oral and written information, using the English language, and organize thoughts and ideas into effective forms of communication.
• Ability to make decisions which range from moderate to a significant impact on the immediate work environment, as well as outside contributors.
• Possess public communication skills that allow professional representation of ACHE to a variety of business and community customers and associates.
• Strong organizational skills.

Problem Solving

• Intuitively able to reason, analyze information and events, and apply judgment in order to solve problems of both a routine and complex nature.
• Expertise in negotiation.

Physical and Sensory Abilities

• May be exposed to short, intermittent, and/or prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing in performance of job duties.
• May be required to accomplish job duties using various types of equipment/supplies to include, but not limited to pens, pencils, calculators, computer keyboards, telephone, etc.
• May be required to transport oneself to other campus offices, conference rooms, and on occasion, to off-campus sites to attend meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars, etc.
• May require significant travel or work away from campus.
• Requires attendance at events representing ACHE both within as well as outside of the college setting.
• Frequently required to work at a desk, conference table or in meetings of various configurations.
• Frequently required to see for purposes of reading matter.
• Frequently required to hear and understand speech at normal levels.
• Occasionally required to lift items in a normal office environment.
• Ability to safely lift and carry 25 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation. 
• Frequently required to operate office and presentation equipment.

If you need assistance in the application process because of a disability, or any other reason, please contact Vicki Broadaway, Vice President of Human Resources, at 479.308.2290 or hr@achehealth.edu.

Arkansas Colleges of Health Education is an equal opportunity employer.