Skip to main content

Foundations Director, MD Program

The School of Medicine is soliciting nominations for a Foundations Director in the undergraduate MD program. The Foundations Director is a key member of the education leadership team and is responsible for providing direction, guidance, and oversight for the Foundations phase of the MD curriculum. In this role, the Foundations Director will lead curricular activities in the first 18 months of the MD curriculum to ensure that medical students achieve the MD program objectives. Working closely with faculty, students, and staff in the Office of Medical Education and Student Affairs, the Foundations Director has the unique opportunity to work with a diverse group of people, dedicated to the education mission, and to represent the School of Medicine in national forums.  

Primary job duties of the Foundation Director include the following:

  1. Direct, and evaluate module/thread directors
    • Participate in the recruitment and selection of module and thread directors
    • Convene and lead monthly meetings of directors
    • Facilitate communication amongst directors and between directors and other SOM entities (e.g. Foundations sub-committee, SOMITS, etc.)
    • Facilitate integration of thread topics and collaboration between module and thread directors
    • Partner with module/thread directors to assist with revisions/updates to current courses and the development of new courses
    • Provide leadership and oversight of CQI for modules and threads – clarity of objectives, appropriateness of content, appropriateness of learning modalities, student assessment, remediation, etc.
    • Ensure module directors are meeting expectations in regards to timeliness of submitting materials and other information as requested, communication, responsiveness, attendance at meetings, etc. 
    • Meet one-on-one with each module/thread director at least once per year to evaluate their performance in their role as director
    • Provide a written yearly evaluation of each module/thread director
    • Update module/thread director knowledge of SOM policies and procedures
  2. Liaise with the Executive Curriculum Committee (ECC) and Foundations Sub-committee on relevant issues of curriculum and policy
    • Serve as an ex-officio member of the Foundations Sub-committee
    • Collaborate with the Foundations Sub-committee chair on curriculum and policy matters
    • Provide updates and data to ECC as scheduled or when requested
    • Coordinate Foundations curriculum with Application curriculum and overall program outcomes
    • Assist in implementing changes in Foundations curriculum as approved by the ECC
  3. Liaise with the Small Group Advisor director on relevant issues of curriculum
  4. Facilitate the preparation and in-service advancement of module/thread leaders as educational leaders
    • Conduct needs analyses to design training programs for module/thread directors
    • Collaborate with SOM experts to deliver training
    • Design and conduct “on-boarding” for new module/thread directors
  5. Monitor and respond to relevant student issues in the foundations phase
    • Review and analyze student feedback of Foundations courses and phase
    • Communicate with student leaders regarding class-wide issues
    • Identify resources and facilitate solutions to students identified issues
    • Enhance communication with Foundations students regarding SOM policies and procedures
  6. Inspire efforts to innovate and improve education
    • Monitor trends in medical education
    • Encourage scholarship in medical education
  7. Know relevant LCME standards/elements and ensure compliance
    • Participate on LCME Working Group
    • Cooperate with ongoing LCME, CQI and other efforts

The Foundations Director will report to the Associate Dean of Medical Education. Partial FTE of salary support will be provided. This is a fantastic leadership and development opportunity for those interested in the education mission of the school.

How to apply 

Nominations of self or others should include a CV and a one-paragraph summary of interest to Dr. Erica Brownfield at ebrownf@emory.edu. The nomination deadline is Monday, May 10, 2019.