Medical Education Specialist

JOB TITLE: Medical Education Specialist, Rural Continuing

Medical Education (RCME) Community Program

JOB SUMMARY

In accordance with the established vision and values of the RCCbc network, the Medical Education Specialist, Rural Continuing Medical Education (RCME) Community Program will report to the Director, Engagement and Outreach. Funded by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues and managed by RCCbc, the RCME Community Program provides funding and implementation support to groups of physicians living and delivering care in Rural Subsidiary Agreement communities to address their collective learning needs.

The Medical Education Specialist, RCME Community Program is responsible for coordination and delivery of the RCME Community Program at RCCbc. This role collaborates with rural physician groups, RCME Community Program Community Coordinators, RCCbc staff, and continuing medical education and professional development partners to support delivery of continuing medical education in rural communities that is relevant to the local context and in alignment with physician priorities and program policies.

NETWORK SUMMARY

Led by rural physicians, the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) is a network that improves the health of rural people and communities across British Columbia. We cultivate relationships and networks, facilitate rural health discussion, coordinate rural health projects, create learning opportunities for rural healthcare practitioners, advocate for a healthy rural British Columbia, stimulate rural health research, and develop healthcare leaders. Funded primarily by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, our network partners include healthcare providers, healthcare administrators, community members, policymakers, educators, researchers, and non-profit and business leaders.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Community-Specific Responsibilities

1. Working with the RCME Community Coordinator and Physician Lead:
   1. Establish and maintain ongoing proactive engagement, needs assessment, and prioritization with physicians to understand continuing medical education needs relevant to the local context.
   2. Analyze learning needs and provide input and recommendations to support the development of annual plans for local, community-based continuing medical education in alignment with the RCME Community Program policies and budget.
2. Work with the RCME Community Coordinator and Physician Lead to implement the annual plan. Support may include, but is not limited to:
   1. Facilitation of approval and sign-off and collaborative monitoring of milestones and deliverables.
   2. Recommendations and guidance regarding available and relevant continuing medical education speakers, topics, and courses.
   3. Guidance regarding accreditation of continuing medical education activities.
3. Facilitate ongoing engagement with the RCME Community Coordinator and Physician Lead to identify unmet or emerging community specific needs and provide leadership and support in the development and implementation of strategies to meet these needs. Engagement may involve travel to rural sites.
4. Ensure the community education plan and expenditures adhere to RCME Community Program policies and timelines, identifying risks, issues, or variances and working collaboratively with communities and internal teams to resolve them.
5. Provide support and expertise to physician groups to recruit, hire, and onboard local RCME Community Program Coordinators.
6. Work in partnership with physician groups to recruit and onboard a local RCME Physician Lead.
7. Support RCCbc Communications in the development of onboarding and orientation materials for the RCME Community Program Coordinators and Physician Leads and lead implementation to ensure consistent program delivery, adherence to policy, and alignment with provincial expectations.
8. Prepare regular summaries and updates for the program team, RCCbc Leadership or others as requested.

Regional and Provincial Responsibilities

1. In collaboration with the Director, Engagement and Outreach, establish and sustain separate communities of practice for RCME Community Program Coordinators, and RCME Community Program Physician Leads to support shared learning, consistency, and peer connection.
2. Act as the primary RCME Community Program point of contact for Community Coordinators and Physician Leads, providing guidance and oversight related to the RCME Community Program policies and eligibility requirements.
3. Contribute to RCME Community Program provincial planning, reporting, evaluation and continuous improvement.
4. Collaborate with internal RCCbc teams and external partners to align RCME Community Program activities with broader rural health priorities, engagement initiatives, and strategic objectives.
5. In collaboration with RCCbc Communications, develop and implement communication strategies.
6. Liaise between funding organizations and programs that support rural continuing medical education and professional development including community, hospital, and health authority administrators; RCCbc; the Rural Education Action Plan (REAP); the University of British Columbia Rural Professional Development (UBC-RCPD); and representatives from other organizations and other communities.
7. Work collaboratively with the UBC-RCPD, REAP, and related partners to maintain currency with continuing medical education opportunities and accreditation expertise, to communicate rural community education needs, to avoid duplication of efforts, and reduce barriers for RCME Community Coordinators and physicians.
8. Working with local RCME Community Coordinators and Physician Leads attend and provide coordination and planning support for regional RCME Community Program events.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education, Training, and Experience

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline such as clinical education, healthcare administration or management, adult learning and education, or health sciences.
• Three to five years experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Rural experience and passion/lived experience in improving rural health for patients and communities.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal skills, advanced written and verbal communication, pro-active problem-solving abilities, and a well-demonstrated ability to work with others as part of an interdisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to work with diverse populations, incorporating diverse perspectives, values, and approaches into planning.
• Knowledge of project management concepts, methods, practices, and tools.
• Ability to provide leadership to others in a team setting.
• Exceptional attention to detail and an advanced ability to organize information and multitask/ prioritize in a busy environment.
• Manages time effectively and meets ongoing deadlines.
• Flexibility and willingness to travel to rural sites across the province.
• Highly proficient with MS Office (particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), MS Outlook, Teams, and Zoom.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential.
• Ability to effectively present and clarify requirements, and gain support for expectations, ideas, and concepts with various audiences/stakeholders.
• Ability to create and achieve results by engaging and influencing individual, group, or departmental goals.
• Ability to inspire and guide individuals toward goal achievement.
• Ability to effectively explore alternatives to make appropriate decisions.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

Assets

• Knowledge of the BC healthcare system.
• Knowledge of continuing medical education accreditation or familiarity with standards from bodies like the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
• Knowledge of medical continuing education courses, topics, and speakers.
• Understanding of rural BC geography.
• Experience working with physicians.

DEI Statement

RCCbc welcomes and encourages applications from equity deserving groups and diverse experiences including, but not limited to, Indigenous people, racialized people, people with disabilities, and members of the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community. We are an equal opportunity employer and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences and backgrounds, who share a passion for improving people's lives. Diversity not only includes race and gender identity, but also age, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, religion and many other parts of one’s identity. All of our employee’s points of view are key to our success, and inclusion is everyone's responsibility.

If there are any barriers that you are experiencing or require an accommodation that we can provide to support you through the application process, please reach out to us at careers@rccbc.ca.

Salary: $74,542 - $87,696

Location: Individual/applicant must reside in British Columbia. Preference will be given to applicants residing in a rural community.

Node Office: Hybrid or remote option dependent upon location.

Please send cover letter and resume to careers@rccbc.ca. Please don’t use AI to write your cover letter.

Thank you for your interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.