Chair, Department of Clinical Sciences

The Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences is the senior academic and operational leader responsible for designing, executing, and continuously improving the clinical education enterprise across the undergraduate medical education (UME) program. The Chair ensures excellence, consistency, and accountability in clinical teaching, faculty performance, and learner outcomes across all clinical sites, while advancing the College's Christ-centered mission and strategic priorities.

Primary position responsibilities:

Leadership & Strategy

• Upholds and advances the Christ-centered mission, vision, and values of Belmont University and FCoM.
• Develops and executes a multi-year strategic plan for the Department of Clinical Sciences that strengthens excellence in clinical teaching, scholarship, and community engagement.
• Establishes clear performance expectations, metrics and accountability structures for department success.
• Serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, contributing to policy development, strategic planning, resource prioritization, and operational effectiveness.
• Demonstrates future‑oriented leadership-promotes teamwork, transparency, accountability, and candor; anticipates long‑term implications in a rapidly evolving clinical environment; and aligns departmental priorities with college‑wide goals.
• Promotes a culture of collaboration across academic and clinical departments.

Clinical Education & Curriculum

• Provides academic leadership for all clinical science components across the four-year UME curriculum.
• Ensures alignment of clinical education with institutional learning objectives, LCME accreditation standards, and best practices in medical education.
• Supports effective teaching methodologies, robust assessment strategies, and integration of simulation, interprofessional learning, and technology-enhanced instruction.
• Oversees outcome monitoring, site evaluation processes, and continuous quality improvement across all clinical learning experiences.
• Partners with curriculum leadership to ensure intentional integration of clinical sciences with foundational sciences.
• Contributes to teaching in the medical program, including direct instruction, small-group facilitation, clinical skills teaching, and learner assessment as needed.
• Ensures that all clinical experiences provide appropriate supervision, patient exposure, and progressive responsibility.

Faculty Recruitment, Development & Evaluation

• Leads the recruitment, onboarding, development, and evaluation of a distributed faculty workforce, including core and community-based clinical educators.
• Establishes standardized expectations for teaching performance, professionalism, and learner engagement across all faculty.
• Implements formal evaluation and feedback systems for faculty, including peer review, learner evaluations, and performance improvement processes.
• Partners with the Office of Faculty Success to support promotion, advancement, and remediation when necessary.
• Builds a culture of accountability, mentorship, and continuous professional development.

Fostering Research & Scholarship

• Encourages and supports faculty participation in medical education research, clinical scholarship, quality improvement, and community-engaged scholarship.
• Collaborates with the Associate Dean for Research to connect faculty with mentorship, project development support, and training in research methods, compliance, and dissemination.

Partnerships & Community Engagement

• Works with the Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs to build and sustain meaningful relationships with clinical affiliates, community clinics, and health systems to secure high-quality clinical placements and longitudinal learning experiences.
• Ensures that all clinical partners meet educational, supervisory, and accreditation standards.
• Represents FCoM and the department in regional and national forums relevant to clinical education and academic medicine to enhance reputation and strategic positioning.

Administration & Operations

• Oversees departmental operations, including staffing, performance, and resource allocation.
• Manages the departmental budget with fiscal responsibility and stewardship.
• Ensures compliance with institutional policies, accreditation standards, and professional expectations.
• Maintains transparent communication and organizes regular faculty and staff meetings to support coordination and alignment.
• Addresses conflict in a constructive manner and cultivates a healthy, collaborative working environment.

The above statements describe the job's essential responsibilities and requirements. They are not an exhaustive list of the duties that may be assigned to job incumbents.