Job Description

Assistant/Associate Dean, Basic Science Medical Education

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU): CDU is a private, nonprofit, community-founded, student-centered university with three colleges: Nursing, Science and Health, and Medicine. CDU is committed to cultivating diverse health professions leaders who are dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations, and in July 2023 opened a new CDU MD degree program in its College of Medicine, as evidence of that commitment.

Founded in 1966 as a post-graduate medical school in response to local healthcare needs, CDU is located in South Los Angeles bordering the neighborhood of Watts and the City of Compton. This year, CDU celebrates 60 years of training diverse health leaders who fulfill its mission in South Los Angeles and across the nation and world. Outstanding education, individualized mentorship, clinical service, and community engagement are at the core of the CDU experience.

The College of Medicine (COM) at CDU has entered the last phase of the LCME process to full accreditation for its new MD Program that opened with a charter class of 60 students July 2023. The new MD Program is built on the foundation of:

• Graduate Medical Education (GME) with residency programs in Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine.
• A robust history of NIH, other federal and foundation funded disparities research, specifically in cancer, HIV, mental health and metabolic disorders.
• Forty plus years of experience with clinical education through its clinical track in a joint medical education program with UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine (CDU/UCLA Medical Education Program). The joint degree program graduated its first class in 1985 and sunsets in 2027, having set the stage for the new MD degree program at CDU.

CDU's new medical school is the 157th in the nation and the 4th at an HBCU. The medical students are differentiated from national peers in the percent who received Pell Grants while in college – 70% compared to 20% nationally. CDU's mission includes providing opportunities for students from CDU's surrounding neighborhoods and South Los Angeles County, and from low income/under-resourced backgrounds. This requires ensuring our students' success with the career-long certification process as required for a rewarding career in medicine. It is in this context that we seek a strong, experienced medical educator able to lead our developing basic science medical education unit.

The Position: The Assistant or Associate Dean for Basic Science Medical Education is a unique opportunity for a visionary health professional and medical educator, preferably a physician scientist, to lead in an educational training environment built on inter-professional innovation and CDU's vision, mission, and values.

This is a new position created to lead, strengthen, and teach in the pre-clerkship basic science curriculum for 1st and 2nd year medical students, and offer and participate in the strategic board preparation activities throughout the 4 years. This dean will work in concert with the associate dean for Clinical Medical Education and the Chair of the Department of Basic Science. With responsibility for the management and oversight of the pre-clerkship medical education basic science program of 15 courses (listed in the Appendix) that set the stage for the clinical years and are required for the MD degree. These pre-clerkship courses prepare medical students for passing Step I and Step II and for success in their clinical training. A metric of the success of the pre-clerkship curriculum is the pass rate for Step 1.

The assistant/associate dean for basic science medical education leads and manages the faculty, curriculum development, and ensures the quality of the scientific disciplines with a focus on accreditation, innovation, faculty development, and peer standards. Science education includes but is not limited to physiology, pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. This role involves working with faculty and committees to develop effective teaching methods, monitor student progress in basic sciences, participate in strategic planning, and ensure alignment with accreditation standards, ultimately promoting a strong biomedical science education foundation for medical students.

Key Responsibilities:

• Fidelity to CDU's Mission: Adhere to the mission and values of CDU understanding the responsibility to help our new MD Program, our students and our community.
• Curriculum Leadership: Design, implement, and oversee the basic medical science curriculum, ensuring it is integrated, innovative, and meets best practices in medical education.
• Accreditation & Compliance: Ensure the basic science curriculum and associated programs meet the standards of relevant accrediting bodies, such as the LCME.
• Faculty Support & Development: Mentor, support, and foster faculty in the basic sciences, helping them develop their educational and research programs and adopt new teaching methodologies.
• Student Progress Monitoring: Work with committees to monitor and evaluate student performance in the basic sciences, addressing any academic or disciplinary issues.
• Administrative Oversight: Manage the budget for the basic science education office and provide operational support to administrative staff.
• Collaboration: Work closely with the clinical education units, the Basic science department, other departments and offices within the medical school and university, such as those for student affairs, faculty development, and curriculum development.
• Strategic Planning: Develop and implement the strategic vision for the basic science portion of the medical education program.
• Innovation & Research: Promote educational innovation within the basic sciences and foster collaborations across different academic disciplines, including research in educational, clinical, and biomedical areas.

Position Requirements:

Education:

• Doctorate degree is required - a M.D/ D.O. and PhD in one of the Basic Medical Science is preferred.

Experience:

• At least 5 years' experience as a leader and teacher of medical education
• Experience as a leader in Medical Education
• Significant experience in teaching and administration within undergraduate medical education.
• Strong understanding of curriculum design, educational methodologies, and assessment techniques in health professions.
• Proven ability to manage complex organizations, human resources, and budgets.
• Excellent oral and written communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
• Knowledge of accreditation standards and the ability to advocate for compliance.
• Experience teaching, advising and mentoring students.
• Experience with curriculum design and program evaluation.

Knowledge/Ability/Skills:

• Ability to analyze and solve problems.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to create, compose and edit written materials.
• Ability to gather data, compile information and prepare reports.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments.
• Ability to supervise and train staff.
• Ability to work in fast-paced environment.
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, delegate.
• Ability to work with team and independently.
• Ability to mediate conflict.
• PC proficient with strong working knowledge of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.
• Skills in organizing resources and establishing priorities
• Ability to network with various individuals and organizations
• Strong technical ability and familiarity working with various software

Complexity:

• The ability to perform highly detailed, cost-effective work with sustained attention and care in a fast-paced, frequently changing environment, while providing/obtaining information on numerous inquiries is paramount to success in this position.

Physical Demands:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Occasional stooping. Frequent standing. Constant walking, sitting, climbing, reaching high/low levels, finger movement, feeling, speaking clearly, hearing conversationally, and seeing far and near.

Work Environment:

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Occasionally required to work in confined space.
• Frequently required to work evenings. Occasionally required to work weekends.

Mental Demands:

• The mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Frequent work on a variety of unrelated tasks. Constantly interrupted

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