Director of Clinical Education and Training

Title: Director of Clinical Education and Training

Department: Clinical Services

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer 

FLSA Status: Exempt

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of clinical education and training serves as a full-time clinical educator embedded within Lowell Community Health Center’s outpatient primary care setting. This role is dedicated to the supervised onboarding, clinical training, and professional development of newly hired nurse practitioners transitioning into community health practice. The Director of clinical education and training practices clinically alongside new NP staff and other clinical staff memebers, ensuring high-quality patient care while providing structured, competency-based mentorship. This position is central to the Health Center’s workforce development strategy and its commitment to building a skilled, mission-aligned clinical team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical Education Program Leadership

• Develops, implements, and evaluates a comprehensive clinical education and training program aligned with the Health Center’s strategic priorities, clinical quality goals, workforce needs, and regulatory requirements.
• Establishes standardized education, onboarding, competency assessment, and professional development processes across clinical departments.
• Develops an annual clinical education plan based on organizational priorities, quality data, patient safety trends, regulatory requirements, and identified workforce competency needs.
• Serves as the Health Center’s subject-matter expert and strategic resource for clinical education, adult learning, competency development, and professional development.
• Partners with clinical, operational, quality, compliance, HR, and executive leadership to identify and address clinical education and workforce development needs.

Clinical Preceptorship & New Staff Onboarding

•       Serves as the primary preceptor for newly hired NPs during their onboarding period, providing direct clinical supervision across the full scope of outpatient primary care

•       Supervises learner-conducted patient encounters in real time, assuring that documentation and coding align with requirements.

•       Establishes individualized onboarding plans with progressive autonomy benchmarks, competency milestones, and defined transition-to-independent-practice timelines

•       Conducts structured, scheduled feedback sessions and formal competency evaluations at defined intervals throughout the onboarding period

•       Identifies clinical knowledge or skill gaps early and develops targeted remediation plans in coordination with clinical leadership

• Review patient cases and documentation, providing timely and constructive feedback.
• Guide NPs in managing complex patients, including those with multiple chronic conditions, behavioral health needs, and social determinants of health challenges.

Clinical Oversight

• Observe and evaluate patient encounters to assess clinical competence and professional growth.
• Ensure safe, effective, and patient-centered care delivery.
• Assist new NPs in identifying appropriate consultation, referral, and escalation pathways.
• Monitor adherence to clinical quality measures, risk management standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in chart reviews, documentation audits, and quality improvement initiatives
• Partners with Clinical Leadership to develop education in response to quality trends, patient safety events, audit findings, regulatory requirements, and identified clinical practice gaps.
• Ensures clinical education programs support compliance with HRSA Health Center Program requirements, applicable state and federal regulations, accreditation standards, and organizational policies.
• Supports organizational readiness for regulatory, accreditation, payer, and other external reviews through education, competency validation, and documentation.

Clinical Education & Curriculum

•       Develops and maintains a structured NP onboarding curriculum grounded in FQHC operations, chronic disease management, SDOH screening, behavioral health integration, and preventive care

•       Facilitates case-based learning, clinical skills training, and orientation to Health Center protocols, standing orders, and EHR workflows

•       Incorporates quality improvement frameworks (PDSA, Lean) into the onboarding experience

•       Continuously refines the preceptorship program based on outcomes data and feedback from new hires and clinical leadership

Workforce Development & Leadership

•       Partners with clinical and HR leadership to strengthen NP recruitment, onboarding, and retention

•       Tracks and reports preceptorship metrics including onboarding duration, competency attainment, and new hire retention rates

•       Contributes to clinical policy, protocol, and standing order development

•       Participates in staff meetings, quality committees, practice councils and organizational initiatives as assigned

•       Models a culture of continuous learning and reflective practice

QUALIFICATIONS

Requirements:

•      5 to 8 years of clinical practice and progressive leadership experience in healthcare education or staff training

 Master of Science in Nursing (MSN); Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) highly preferred

•       Current NP licensure and certification (FNP, AGPCNP, or PNP preferred for primary care scope)

•       Minimum 7 years of NP clinical experience in an inpatient and/or outpatient setting, with significant outpatient primary care experience

•       At least 2 years in a community health, FQHC, or safety-net setting

•       Current BLS certification

•       Strong working knowledge of FQHC operations, UDS reporting, and value-based care models

Preferred

•       Experience with collaborative care models (CoCM) and SDOH screening and intervention

•       Familiarity with HRSA Health Center Program requirements and compliance expectations

•       Bilingual proficiency

COMPETENCIES

•       Clinical excellence and commitment to high-quality, patient-centered care

•       Strong communication and interpersonal skills across multidisciplinary teams

•       Proficiency in adult learning principles with ability to tailor teaching to individual learner needs

•       Sound judgment and adaptability in a fast-paced, resource-constrained community health environment

•       Commitment to Lowell CHC’s mission of service to underserved populations

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

·         Frequent standing and walking for up to 80% of the workday or shift. 

·         Some lifting, pushing or pulling required up to 30 pounds.

·         Ability to see and distinguish color.

·         Ability to perform CPR (chest compressions).

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

·         Frequent contact with patients, families, visitors, nurses and other department staff.

·         Occasional stress and pressure caused by multiple simultaneous demands.

·         May be exposed to various infectious diseases. Universal precautions and techniques are included in orientation and the availability of protective wear is supported and encouraged when the employee is at risk for exposure.