Senior Program Assistant, (Prince George, Northern Rural, & Rural Immersion)

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Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

FTE: This is a full-time, salaried (100% FTE), ongoing position.

Hybrid Work Arrangement: At present, a minimum of two days per week is required to work at the Prince George Hospital education office (subject to change based on operational needs). This role requires being on site on Fridays from 9am-5pm to ensure smooth delivery of academic teaching sessions.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The Senior Program Assistant (PA) provides diversified and complex administrative and operational support to the Site Directors and Site Coordinator for the Prince George, Northern Rural, & Rural Immersion Family Practice (FPPG) Postgraduate Program. The Senior Program Assistant will be responsible for understanding the clinical and community nuances of each training site. They will participate in the delivery of the Prince George, Northern Rural and Rural Immersion residency training programs. Occasional travel to the northern rural communities might be involved on an as-needed basis. Role requires flexibility to assist with special events outside of normal working hours.

The incumbent is responsible for core operational functions of the FPPG program at the site. The Senior PA will coordinate the resident academic and clinical experiences, implement procedures and processes, facilitate Site Director/FP Preceptor/ Community Site Leads/Site Faculty initiatives, and advise learners. The incumbent is given varying degrees of latitude for exercising independent initiative and judgement to develop operational procedures, determine priorities, and coordinate program deliverables. Senior Program Assistants in the FPPG program are required to have an extensive understanding of programmatic, site, and Faculty of Medicine (FOM) policies and procedures. Additionally, incumbents will develop a large network of relationships with stakeholders within the Health Authorities, Hospital Departments, UBC units, and Postgraduate Offices. The Sr Program Assistant will assist in creating connections with several northern rural communities.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Rural Immersion/Prince George/Northern Rural Site Coordinator (SC) in the Family Practice Postgraduate Program. Takes direction from the Site Director, Site Faculty, and Community site Leads. Collaborates closely with FPPG staff and faculty across the North, the Central Vancouver FPPG team, Royal College stakeholders and various members of the Northern Medical Program. Interacts with: preceptors, residents, various healthcare professionals and organizations, along with the office of Postgraduate Medical Education in the Faculty of Medicine.

Work Performed

Program Delivery:

• Administers work flow and designs operational processes in consultation with the Rural Immersion/Prince George/Northern Rural Site Director and Site Coordinator

• Responds to complex inquiries and triages dynamic, sensitive, and confidential issues in varying domains such as resident performance, preceptor issues, financial concerns and other elements of program delivery

• Supports the Site Directors (SD) and residents in navigating/interpreting University, Faculty of Medicine, and Postgraduate Education policies; provides recommendations for site specific guidelines

• Organizes and supports the Site Resident Education Committee; in collaboration with the SC, ensures key issues are brought forward for discussion

• Organizes and facilitates educational functions such as orientation, practice exams, procedural skills workshops, simulation sessions, scholarship events, and other curricular activities as needed.

• Organizes faculty development and behavioral medicine sessions in collaboration with Site Faculty.

• Supports the accreditation processes by identifying areas of risk and providing recommendations to the SC and SD; contributes to accreditation documentation; coordinates logistical aspects of accreditation visits

• Responsible for maintaining current policy and curricular information on the Rural Immersion, Prince George, & Northern Rural intranet site (Entrada)

• Acts as a liaison between the Prince George-based FPPG team, Central FPPG office, Training Site stakeholders, clinical departments, and residents

• Arranges for pagers, computer access and building access cards for residents in collaboration with the Prince George FPPG staff and the Reginal Program Assistants (east/west)

• Provides cross-coverage for the Fort St. John and Terrace sites

• Prepares meeting materials and provides additional meeting/workshop support as needed: scheduling, booking rooms, coordinating catering, generating/circulating agenda and preparing minutes

• Other duties as required

Clinical Scheduling:

• In collaboration with the SD, SC, and Regional Program Assistants, develops the master schedule for residents and facilitates selective/elective placements.

• Frequently communicates with various clinics, hospitals, and departments to establish capacity and secure specialty placements

• Provides regular communication to residents, FP preceptors, specialists, community site leads, and faculty regarding educational functions, meetings, and rotations in collaboration with the Prince George FPPG team.

• Ensures preceptors and hospital administrators are aware of the protected academic sessions and resident time off

• Plans specialized schedules for residents with accommodations or unique learning plans

• Triages scheduling issues on behalf of the preceptor and residents

• Posts rotation learning objectives online for residents; ensures documents remain up to date

• Responsible for keeping the online scheduling systems (One45 and CPMS) current with resident, preceptor and rotation data

• Facilitates and monitors clinical faculty appointments to ensure preceptors are approved to teach.

Academic Curriculum and Sessions:

• Develops the academic schedule, topics, and events in collaboration with the SC and SD; sessions vary in style and delivery (procedural skills workshops, scholarly/research projects, simulation labs, didactic sessions, journal club etc.)

• Responsible for recruitment and scheduling of presenters

• Distributes objectives and cases and all supporting documentation to residents and presenters

• Responsible for securing rooms and video conferencing options as well as troubleshooting issues during the delivery of the session

• Coordinates academic sessions with other FPPG sites to share teaching resources

Finance:

• Maintains an in-depth knowledge of the financial policies and procedures in relation to the FPPG program, with emphasis on resident reimbursement, teaching payments and faculty reimbursements

• Tracks and submits academic teaching payments

• Monitors spending of the Resident Activity Fund: approves and processes reimbursements, instructs residents and faculty on the parameters of use for the Resident Activity Funds

• Approves and triages resident reimbursements paid by PGME; drafts communication pertaining to PGME reimbursement policies

• Tracks and calculates clinical teaching payments and provides detailed reports to the SC and FPPG Central Office

Assessment & Evaluation:

• Oversees the resident clinical ‘checklist’ process which tracks the procedures/cases required for training. Escalates gaps in learning to SD and arranges rotations outside the resident’s base community

• Maintain/updates individual academic records for residents; including tracking and escalating performance or professionalism related issues

• Monitors assessment and evaluation of Residents through the online system; responsible for disseminating assessment forms in a timely manner.

• Schedules periodic reviews (resident progression) and generates assessment reports to support these meetings

• Coordinates and supports the Site Level Competency Committee meetings

• Disseminates and tracks completion of teacher assessment and rotation evaluations; creates year end evaluation reports which are reviewed by SD

Resident Support:

• Responsible for approving and updating resident records in the Resident Management System relating to academic promotion, vacation, and sick leave/absences

• Liaises with the credentialing and licensing bodies to provide information on resident academic standing, recommendations for writing the CFPC exam, and completion of training

• Participates in the planning and execution of site events such a graduation and resident retreats

• Responds to inquires in alignment with the Resident Doctors of BC Collective Agreement

• Liaises with health authority partners to arrange patient system records access, training and hospital access

• Aids in the securing of housing for residents

Resident Selection:

• Participates in the community placement process of residents to their home training site

• Organizes recruitment sessions with potential applicants

• Collaborates on the creation of promotional material and social media content to market the site

• Engages with community partners to create opportunities to attract future doctors to the site

• Participates in the development of resident selection criteria and scoring at the site level

Consequence of Error/Judgement

• Errors in monitoring and processing financial transactions may lead to delayed payment to clinical faculty and residents or funding shortfall for the site.

• With respect to the handling of confidential and delicate matters, inappropriate action may result in breaches of confidence and/or would negatively reflect on the program and could potentially lead to the withdrawal of a teaching site.

• Error in judgment or ineffective communication may lead to loss of educational opportunities, clinical shortages, or even patient safety issues.

Supervision Received
Works independently under broad direction from the Rural Immersion/Prince George/Northern Rural Site Coordinator (SC). The incumbent is expected to be able to take initiative, problem-solve, and apply discretion to determine course of action and then follow through independently.

Supervision Given

Trains other Program Assistant who may be from a variety of sites and health authorities. Supervises temporary staff and work learn students.

Minimum Qualifications
High School graduation, plus two year post-secondary diploma, plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous medical education or post-secondary administrative experience an asset.

• Experience with working in a collaborative, team environment.

• Excellent organizational skills including setting priorities and managing multiple tasks is a requirement.

• Proven experience in dealing with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous, and effective manner.

• Familiarity with MS Office Suite required and must be comfortable with navigating a variety of administrative web based systems.

• Role requires flexibility to assist with special events outside of normal working hours.

• Must have excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to navigate in the changing landscape of medical education.

• Ability to take initiative, determine course of action and then follow through independently.

• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

• Works independently and productively in a hybrid and distributed work environment.