The Program Director must administer and maintain an educational environment conducive to educating residents/fellows in each of the ACGME competency areas and in conformance with Cullman Regional Medical Center policies and procedures. Selected duties may be delegated to faculty or training program administrators, however, the Program Director is responsible to the Designated Institutional Official, the Graduate Medical Education Committee, and to the ACGME’s Residency Review Committee for the timely and accurate completion of all tasks and their quality.
Program director’s duties include, but are not limited to:
All new PD appointments require prior approval by the GMEC and, for ACGME-accredited programs, by the appropriate ACGME Review Committee. In addition, candidates must meet the following: Active medical licensure and ongoing clinical activity and privileges consistent with the program’s specialty. Demonstrated educational or administrative experience relevant to the program’s accreditation standards.
Meets qualifications defined by the applicable certifying or accrediting body, such as ACGME.
The PD demonstrates leadership in cultivating a respectful, inclusive learning environment that promotes professionalism, safety, and continuous improvement. Program Leadership and Oversight: Maintain authority and accountability for the program’s structure, content, quality, and compliance with specialty and institutional requirements. Promote a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and psychological safety for all learners, staff, and faculty.
Ensure continuity of leadership and program stability, including participation in succession planning. Collaborate with the institution to secure support personnel and resources, and align the program’s goals with institutional missions and the needs of the patient populations served. Curriculum Development and Evaluation: Oversee the design and implementation of a comprehensive curriculum aligned with program aims and educational standards.
Ensure the curriculum aligns with ACGME competencies and Milestone. Ensure that the program structure and curricular experiences align with applicable certifying board requirements. Define goals and objectives for each rotation and learning setting.
Ensure high-quality didactic, clinical, and simulation-based education. Structure the curriculum to promote trainee well-being, professional identity formation, and sustainable professional growth. Ensure systems are in place to monitor trainee participation in required case/procedure logging and address deficiencies [applicable programs only].
Oversee a fair and transparent trainee evaluation system. Ensure completion of semiannual Milestones assessments and an Annual Program Evaluation (APE). Provide a final evaluation of each trainee upon completion of the program.
Faculty Oversight and Development: Appoint, approve, and/or remove faculty from roles within the program, including designation of core faculty. Evaluate faculty annually, including their teaching and supervisory effectiveness. Ensure faculty have access to appropriate development in areas such as feedback, evaluation, supervision, and learner well-being.
Ensure faculty are actively engaged and role model professional behavior. Trainee Oversight, Recruitment, and Learning Environment: Ensure appropriate supervision and graduated responsibility. Promote trainee well-being and adherence to work hour.
Support timely communication, structured handovers, and safe transitions in care. Ensure compliance with institutional policies for trainee selection, including fair and transparent processes and appropriate use of application and match systems, where applicable. Oversee trainee recruitment, appointment, and onboarding in collaboration with program faculty, the program administrator, and the GME Office.
Support the promotion, remediation, and grievance processes as outlined by institutional policy. Review and approve moonlighting requests in accordance with institutional policy. Structure the learning environment to support achievement of program aims and the development of each trainee’s competence.
Remove trainees from clinical settings in which standards for patient care, supervision, professionalism or learning are not met. Scholarly Activity and Professionalism: Encourage and facilitate trainee participation in scholarly activity, including research, coursework, or quality improvement initiatives, as appropriate to the program and/or as specified by specialty Review Committee requirements. Model professionalism, ethical behavior, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Support the development of trainee skills in academic inquiry, continuous improvement, and professional collaboration. Program Resources and Operations: Ensure, with the institution’s support, that the program has adequate resources including faculty time, physical facilities, information technology, and funding to support trainee education and program leadership effort. Monitor and adjust the clinical workload for both trainees and faculty to ensure it supports educational goals, allows for supervision and feedback, and complies with applicable work hour and supervision standards.
Collaborate with the institution to support fair, transparent, and consistently applied recruitment and appointment processes in accordance with institutional policy and applicable law. Accreditation, Compliance, and Institutional Engagement: Ensure the program complies with all applicable institutional, recognition, specialty board, and accrediting body requirements (e.g., ACGME or other relevant bodies), and that policies and practices reflect current accreditation standards.
Maintain accurate and timely information in reporting systems (e.g., ACGME Accreditation Data System), including trainee and faculty rosters, program characteristics, and evaluation data. Obtain DIO and GMEC approval for all required applications, data updates, and program changes (e.g., complement increases, new sites, structural revisions), prior to submission to the accrediting body, if applicable. Respond promptly and accurately to GME, DIO, GMEC, and applicable accrediting/certifying body requests for annual updates, data submissions, site visit preparation, and follow-up.
Participate in institutional GME meetings and initiatives and engage in institutional efforts to promote quality improvement and compliance across programs. This position description is intended as a high-level overview and does not list every possible duty or responsibility.
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