PROGRAM ASSISTANT

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MEDEX Northwest is the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Washington and is a section of the Department of Family Medicine in the School of Medicine. MEDEX has five campuses located at University of Alaska, Anchorage, Gonzaga University in Spokane,  Kona in Hawaii, UW Seattle (main campus), and UW Spokane.

Position Overview

The Didactic Program Assistant is one of two primary staff support persons for the MEDEX Spokane Physician Assistant program in Spokane, Washington providing office and curriculum support for the MEDEX faculty and the MEDEX program in general. Assists faculty with facilitating daily didactic activities, including the organization of curriculum information, information tracking, and correspondence. This position works closely with didactic faculty and staff in implementing course activities and assisting in the production and distribution of course materials. Responsibilities include: front desk reception and general office support; organization of didactic filing systems, paper as well as electronic; didactic scheduling; delivery of student weekly and quarterly evaluations; provides support to faculty in tracking student assignments and grades; assists on special projects.

Supervision

The Program Assistant reports directly to the Manager of Didactic Program Operations, located at the Seattle MEDEX office and also works under the general supervision of the Spokane Site Director and didactic faculty. This position works closely with the other Program Assistant located in Spokane.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

A.         Curriculum, Faculty, and Student Support Responsibilities

1.         Interface with students on a daily basis, providing curriculum materials and answering and referring questions as appropriate. On a weekly basis, notifies students of calendar changes, assignment deadlines, and workshop information. Serve as a resource for students.
2.         Provides didactic course support for Spokane faculty throughout all quarters of the academic year. Requires extensive knowledge of the didactic program as a whole as well as individual course policies, content, procedures, assignments and deadlines, as outlined in the course syllabi. Posts Canvas materials such as lecture outlines and PowerPoint presentations for students; edits course materials for correct formatting, spelling, punctuation; assists faculty in creating PowerPoint presentations; prepares other classroom materials as needed.
3.         In collaboration with the Spokane Site Director and following guides from the Manager of Didactic Operations, creates and maintains quarterly Spokane campus calendar. Distributes calendar to students and campus faculty and staff, Canvas and the MEDEX file server.
4.         Works closely with faculty in arranging guest lecturers, panelists, and proctors. Faculty initiates contact with lecturers in most cases and the Program Assistant follows up by contacting lecturers. Provides assistance to lecturers in setting classroom A/V equipment, as needed.
5.         Facilitates payment of lecturers, proctors, panelists, and model patients according to current budget office policies and procedures for payments. Record participant information, participation records and payment requests in consultant database. Submits payment requests and reconciliation reports to the Manager of Didactic Program Operations in a timely manner with authorized signatures.
6.         Plans and facilitates, in collaboration with the Spokane Site Director and Spokane faculty course chairs and co-chairs, student workshops throughout the year, including contacting proctors and model patients, arranging for payments for all participants, and maintaining workshop records in the consultant database. Attends and supports workshops as needed.
7.         Utilizes the Catalyst system to create and post weekly and quarterly student evaluations. Downloads, compile, format and distribute or post survey results on a weekly/quarterly basis.
8.         Organizes and maintains Spokane campus student files, assignments, and records while preserving student confidentiality. Maintains a tracking system for all student assignments, grades and attendance in all courses using Excel and FileMaker Pro. Downloads assignments as specified in course syllabi and/or distribute. Coordinates the flow of student assignments from receipt through the grading process and return to students. Provide updated information on assignments and grades as needed by faculty.
9.         Communicates student assignment and course grade status to the Manager of Didactic Program Operations at the conclusion of each quarter.
10.       Organizes and maintains Spokane campus curriculum files for MEDEX courses, via both paper and electronic copies. Works with each course chair and the Manager of Didactic Program Operations to maintain records of all lectures given and resource material used. Maintains and updates files on a regular basis. Posts copies of lecture materials on server and Canvas website, as appropriate.
11.       Assists course chair(s) with multi-campus course support, as assigned by the Manager of Didactic Program Operations, including the production and organization of course syllabi, objectives, assessments, learning tools, and course materials, and the creation and upkeep of these components on the Canvas course website. Communicates questions to the Manager of Didactic Program Operations.
12.       As assigned by the Manager of Didactic Program Operations, posts syllabi, quizzes, assignments and lecture materials on the Canvas platform.
13.       Assists course chair(s) with scheduling course retreats and meetings as assigned by the Manager of Didactic Program Operations. Attends course meetings and perform duties of the taking, editing, and distribution of accurate meeting minutes, noting course changes, decisions, action items and due dates; communicates with course chair(s) regarding course project management; informs Manager of Didactic Program Operations of project deadlines and course changes.
14.       Collaborates with other campus program assistants and coordinators to provide a uniformity of procedures across campuses and to provide a support system to one another. Communicates all curriculum support questions to the Manager of Didactic Program Operations.
15.       Assists faculty, Spokane Program Coordinator, and the Manager of Didactic Program Operations with special projects, as assigned, including inventory of supplies, arranging for space and equipment for special events, notifying students of special events, preparing schedules, and other special projects.

B.         General Office Support Responsibilities

1.         Responsible for office operations. As the initial contact person for the Spokane campus, represents MEDEX to the general public, students, lecturers with courtesy and professionalism. Provides inquiries with accurate information and refers questions appropriately.
2.         Acts as office receptionist and answers phones. Requires knowledge of the program requirements, content, curriculum, policies and procedures.
3.         Opens and distributes mail to staff, faculty and students per established campus protocols. Prepares program outgoing mail or faxes.
4.         Prepares, organize and maintains Spokane administrative files. Maintains a Spokane campus procedural manual.
5.         Prepares, proofreads and edits correspondence or other materials correcting for sentence structure, spelling, grammar and punctuation. Performs complex word processing tasks such as merging, sorting, integrating text and graphics, uploading and downloading files.
6.         Operates office equipment such as copy machine, fax and multi-line phone system. Operates all functions of the phone system: voice mail, transfers calls, arranges conference calls, takes accurate phone messages and serves as the office resource on the operation of the phone system.
7.         Assists Spokane Site Director in making travel arrangements as needed for other campus faculty/staff traveling to Spokane. This may entail arranging for transportation for visitors, making local hotel reservations, and communicating those arrangements to faculty involved or the Spokane Site Director.
8.         Attends Spokane campus faculty meetings. Participates in all MEDEX meetings and activities pertinent to the position. Takes meeting minutes as requested.
9.         Serves, along with the other Spokane Program Assistant, as the staff liaison between the Spokane campus and the MEDEX Program in Seattle, utilizing excellent written and verbal communication skills.
10.       Maintains knowledge of and participate in program activities related to accreditation and compliance.
11.       Performs related duties as assigned by Spokane Site Director, didactic faculty, and the Manager of Didactic Program Operations.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• High School graduation or equivalent and two years of full-time clerical experience.
• Prior experience working with a data base program with skills beyond data entry.
• Prior experience in organizing filing systems – paper and electronic.
• Expertise with Microsoft Word and Excel and the advanced functions of each.
• Prior experience with on-line course management programs such as Canvas, Catalyst,
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written, including composition skills for business letters and other professional correspondence.
• Skill in the use of email as a communication tool.
• Good interpersonal skills as vital to interactions with faculty, staff and students.
• Ability to multi-task and complete projects on time.
• Ability to carry lightweight office or classroom equipment on an occasional basis
• Knowledge of and experience utilizing multi-line phone system.

Desired Qualifications:

• Working with MacIntosh computers and Microsoft 360, Teams, PowerPoint and FilemakerPro.
• Working with adult students.
• On-line testing environments such as ExamSoft.
• On-line classroom tools, such as Zoom and Canvas.
• Conditions of Employment
• Must learn and master computer and software applications (e.g. Canvas, Catalyst, FileMaker Pro, PowerPoint) necessary to fulfill job skills.
• Must be able complete errands to Spokane community resources and the classroom, which may require driving personal vehicle or walking some distances in inclement weather. Mileage may be reimbursed according to state and UW policy.
• All MEDEX staff currently work remotely during COVID-19 restrictions but are expected to return to campus offices when the university restrictions are lifted.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.