Program Director

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership to advance a high-quality, mission-aligned PA program consistent with PCOM’s institutional priorities.
• Maintain continuous compliance with all ARC-PA Standards, institutional policies, and applicable state regulations.
• Work collaboratively with the Accreditation Specialist and serve as the primary liaison to ARC-PA, overseeing:
  • Program applications and appendices
  • RC portal updates and reporting
  • Self-study development and documentation
  • Annual and monitoring reporting
  • Substantive change reporting
  • Accreditation site visit coordination
• Direct supervision and leadership for:
  • Medical Director
  • Assistant Program Directors
  • Director(s) of Didactic Education
  • Director(s) of Clinical Education
  • Principal Faculty, instructional faculty, and program staff
• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of program-level policies, procedures, goals, and strategic plans with institutional leadership.
• Oversee program budgeting, fiscal planning, and resource allocation in collaboration with institutional leadership.
• Lead faculty and staff recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, evaluation, remediation, and professional development.
• Foster an inclusive, collegial, and high-performance culture that supports retention and excellence.
• Cultivate and maintain strong partnerships with clinical sites, health systems, and community stakeholders to ensure high-quality supervised clinical practice experiences.
• Collaborate with admissions, registrar, student affairs, financial aid, marketing, and other institutional offices to ensure seamless program operations.
• The Program Director & Chair is responsible for leadership continuity and succession planning through faculty development, cross-training, and documented transition processes that ensure uninterrupted program operations and ongoing compliance with ARC-PA Standards.

Curriculum, Assessment, and Continuous Quality Improvement

• Oversee the design, implementation, and continuous refinement of the didactic and clinical curriculum.
• Ensure curriculum mapping alignment with:
  • ARC-PA Standards
  • Program-defined competencies
  • NCCPA content and task area blueprints
• Approve course objectives and syllabi, ensuring measurable outcomes and standards compliance.
• Lead a robust assessment and CQI framework, incorporating:
  • Admissions and progression data
  • Course and exam performance
  • OSCEs and simulation outcomes
  • PACKRAT and summative evaluations
  • Clinical performance data
  • PANCE outcomes
  • Graduate, employer, and preceptor feedback
• Use data-driven insights to inform program improvement, resource planning, and accreditation documentation.
• Promote innovative teaching and assessment strategies, including simulation, interprofessional education, and technology-enhanced learning.

Accreditation and Compliance

• Maintain all required accreditation documentation, faculty CVs, and job descriptions in accordance with the ARC-PA Standards.
• Ensure timely communication with ARC-PA regarding:
  • Personnel changes
  • Class size or program length modifications
  • Substantive programmatic changes
• Oversee publication of required program outcomes and student information, including accreditation status, PANCE performance, graduation rates, costs, and technical standards.
• Ensure student policies are clearly published, consistently applied, and ARC-PA compliant.

Student Success; Professional Development

• Promote a learning environment grounded in professionalism, ethics, inclusion, and student well-being.
• Oversee advising, remediation, academic progression, and student support structures.
• Lead or oversee PA student orientation and onboarding.
• Support student professional development, including career planning, licensure preparation, and transition to practice.
• Participate in admissions recruitment, interviews, and selection processes.

Teaching, Scholarship, and Service

• Teach within the PA curriculum in a manner consistent with program needs and accreditation standards.
• Model excellence in teaching and mentorship.
• Engage in scholarly and professional activities that advance PA education, clinical practice, and institutional reputation.
• Participate in college, school, and university governance and service.
• Represent PCOM and the PA program at regional, state, and national professional meetings.