Site Medical Director- Academic Primary Care

Position Summary

The Site Medical Director (SMD) provides clinical, operational, and administrative leadership for an academic primary care practice that serves as a clinical training site for Family Medicine residents. The SMD is responsible for ensuring high-quality, patient-centered care while supporting the educational mission of the residency program and the operational and financial performance of the practice. The Site Medical Director provides direct leadership and oversight of faculty physicians, resident physicians, and clinical support staff and serves as the primary physician leader responsible for day-to-day clinical operations.

The SMD works collaboratively with residency leadership, practice management, nursing/clinical leadership, and health system leadership to optimize patient access, quality, safety, provider productivity, staffing, scheduling, and the clinical learning environment.

The Site Medical Director:

• Provides day-to-day physician leadership for faculty and resident physicians practicing at the site.
• Serves as a primary resource for clinical, operational, professionalism, workflow, and patient-care concerns.
• Promotes accountability for clinical quality, documentation, productivity, access, patient experience, and organizational expectations.
• Identifies and addresses barriers affecting physician and resident performance.
• Supports faculty development, mentorship, onboarding, engagement, and retention.
• Participates in recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and integration of new faculty physicians.
• Partners with residency leadership regarding resident performance, supervision, clinical responsibilities, and concerns arising within the ambulatory practice.
• Facilitates communication between faculty, residents, support staff, residency leadership, practice administration, and health system leadership.
• Promotes a collaborative culture emphasizing professionalism, psychological safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

In partnership with practice management and nursing/clinical leadership, the Site Medical Director:

• Provides physician leadership and oversight for medical assistants and other clinical support personnel.
• Establishes expectations for clinical workflows, rooming, medication reconciliation, preventive care, inbox management, patient messaging, prior authorizations, referrals, and care coordination.
• Addresses workflow and performance concerns affecting patient care or provider efficiency.
• Participates in staffing decisions and evaluates clinical staffing needs based on patient volume, provider schedules, and practice demands.
• Works to optimize physician-support staff team structures and appropriate delegation of clinical responsibilities.
• Supports staff development, engagement, retention, and recognition.
• Facilitates resolution of concerns involving physicians, residents, and clinical support staff.

The Site Medical Director has primary responsibility for development and oversight of the sites clinical provider schedule, including:

• Developing and maintaining faculty physician clinical schedules.
• Coordinating resident continuity clinic schedules in collaboration with residency leadership.
• Aligning faculty supervision with resident clinic schedules to ensure appropriate supervision and regulatory compliance.
• Managing schedule changes related to vacations, CME, illness, conferences, inpatient responsibilities, educational activities, and other absences.
• Ensuring adequate clinical coverage and continuity during planned and unplanned provider absences.
  
  Balancing provider availability, resident supervision, patient access, continuity, and operational needs.
  
  Adjusting templates and clinical capacity based on provider FTE, residency rotations, staffing availability, and patient demand.
  
  Identifying scheduling inefficiencies and opportunities to improve access and provider utilization. Paid Time Off and Provider Coverage

  The Site Medical Director:

  • Reviews and coordinates faculty physician PTO requests.
  • Evaluates PTO requests in the context of clinical coverage, resident supervision, patient access, and other faculty absences.
  • Maintains equitable and consistent processes for physician time‑off requests.
  • Coordinates coverage plans for vacations, CME, leave, and unexpected absences.
  • Works with administrative leadership regarding PTO balances, carryover, FTE changes, and other provider scheduling considerations.
  • Ensures that…