Assistant Professor/Clinic Care Lead- IL- Chicago College of Optometry

The Clinic Care Lead provides clinical and operational leadership for an assigned clinic section, ensuring high-quality patient care, compliance with current national guidelines and documentation requirements, and ongoing quality assurance.  The role also supervises assigned faculty and staff, coordinating workloads, clinic coverage, time off requests, and supporting the annual performance review process. 

Duties and Responsibilities of the Clinical Lead, Contact Lens and Dry Eye:

1. Responsible for daily operations of the contact lens and dry eye clinics, including ordering specialized supplies to ensure that the clinic is properly stocked for optimal care, managing contact lens and dry eye inventory and ensuring that equipment is regularly serviced and in good working order.
2. Responsible for reviewing applications for privileging from the faculty and providing recommendations to the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs on such requests.
3. Responsible for annual identification of new equipment needs for the capital budget.
4. Responsible for reviewing the department fee schedule as needed.
5. Responsible for identifying ways to increase patient volume in the clinics. This includes working with marketing or suggesting changes to marketing strategies, developing new services, community outreach, etc.
6. Oversee the quality of student education in their section. The Clinical Lead will work closely with the Assistant Director of Clinical Rotations to schedule students for this patient care experience, identify students who are having difficulty and take primary responsibility for remediation efforts, handle all student related issues related to this rotation, ensure that grades for students are posted in a timely fashion.  The Clinical Lead will review student comments about the rotation and preceptors regularly, making needing adjustments to the rotation, annually update rotation objectives.
7. Oversee the quality of patient care in their clinical section, including making sure faculty are using the most current national guidelines of care, are compliant with all documentation requirements of Medicare and the Eye Institute, and conducting regular quality assurance assessments to aid in preparation of the quarterly quality assurance reports.
8. Supervise faculty and staff in the clinic section, including assignment of workloads, assisting with time off requests and needed clinic coverage, and aiding in annual review processes. Typically, this may include approximately 3 faculty members and one optical technician.
9. Direct faculty and staff development and training in this specialty area.
10. Responsible for the orientation of faculty and students to this specialty area, including orientation packets for rotation students and policy manuals as needed.
11. Handle patient complaints in the specialty area.
12. Take leadership in developing templates for electronic medical records, or in training faculty on implementing new software.
13. Participate as a member of the leadership team for the Eye Institute, and as a member of the Clinic Administrative Team to advise the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and the Assistant Director of Clinic Operations.
14. Assist with budget planning and management of this specialty area.
15. Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: Candidates must possess a Doctor of Optometry degree from an AOE-accredited institution, must have completed an ACOE-accredited residency, and must be eligible for an Illinois optometric license.  Expertise in the area of cornea and contact lenses is also required.

Contact information: Interested applicants should apply online at www.midwestern.edu and include a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest.   Inquiries may be directed to Dr. Brianne Hobbs, OD, PhD, FAAO, Dean and Professor, Chicago College of Optometry, 555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515; e-mail:  bhobbs@midwestern.edu  

Midwestern University is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides graduate and post-graduate education in the health sciences. The University has two campuses, one in Downers Grove, Illinois, and the other in Glendale, Arizona. More than 6,000 full-time students are enrolled in graduate programs in osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, cardiovascular perfusion, podiatry, optometry, clinical psychology, speech-language pathology, biomedical sciences, and veterinary medicine. Over 500 full-time faculty members and 400 staff members are dedicated to the education and development of our students in an environment that encourages learning, respect for all members of the health care team, service, interdisciplinary scholarly activity, and personal growth.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance plans as well as life insurance, short/long-term disability, and pet insurance.  We offer flexible spending accounts, including healthcare reimbursement and child/dependent care accounts.  We offer a work-life balance with a competitive time off package including paid holidays, sick/flex days, personal days, and vacation days.  We offer a 403(b) retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, child care subsidy reimbursement program, identity theft protection, and an employee assistance program.  Wellness is important to us, and we offer a wellness facility on-site with a fully equipped fitness facility. 

Midwestern University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not discriminate against an employee or applicant based upon race; color; religion; creed; national origin or ancestry; ethnicity; sex (including pregnancy); gender (including gender expressions, gender identity; and sexual orientation); marital status; age; disability; citizenship; past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services; genetic information; or any other protected class, in accord with all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Midwestern University complies with the Smoke-Free Arizona Act (A.R.S. 36-601.01) and the Smoke Free Illinois Act (410 ILCS 82/).  Midwestern University complies with the Illinois Equal Pay Act of 2003 and Arizona Equal Pay Acts.