Course Instructor (DFCM Course: CHL5609H / FD09 Continuing Education in Health Professions)

Description of Organization

DFCM's Academic Fellowship and Graduate Studies Program offers many opportunities for health care professionals at all levels to expand their knowledge and advance in their careers. Taught by leaders and experts in their field, our programs will help you become competitive for opportunities to grow and evolve your career.

Job description:

The Department of Family and Community Medicine invites applications for a renewable part-time/casual position of Course Instructor, FD09 / CHL5609H, for the Academic Fellowship and Graduate Studies program in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.

The effective date of this appointment is September 1, 2025. The role will involve teaching during the Fall academic term (September - December).

This course is currently offered in person at the graduate and continuing education levels and is in high demand. The students are health care professionals from both domestic and international experience from the following programs:

Professional graduate degrees offered through Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health:

• MPH and MPH-Advanced Standing (Family and Community Medicine) (elective)
• MScCH (Family and Community Medicine) (elective)
• MScCH (Health Practitioner Teacher Education) (selective - 1 of required education course pairs)

Continuing professional development programs offered through the Department of Family and Community Medicine:

• Medical Education Fellowship (selective - 1 of required education course pairs)
• Academic Fellowship (elective)
• Clinical Teacher Certificate (elective)
• Clinical Research Certificate (elective)

Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to provide learners with a comprehensive and working knowledge of the field of continuing health professional education in the context of knowledge translation (KT). This is an expanding area of higher education and professional practice to which increasing academic attention is directed. In particular, the application of CE and continuing professional development to closing the clinical care gap between what is known and what health professionals actually do, has assumed significance in the Canadian context.
This five-day modular, highly interactive course is meant to provide both a theoretical and practical base for professional application and a basis for understanding “knowledge translation” from an educational perspective.

Objectives:
At the completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss Needs assessment for curriculum Development and Evaluation of Continuing Education (CE) and continuing Professional Development (CPD).
• Describe methods of Individual Learning, Team Learning and Organizational Learning
• Discuss the knowledge translation and the effects of CE and CPD on Patients and System
• Review relevant literature and synthesis knowledge on some aspect of Health Professional Education.

Responsibilities:
Reporting to the Program Director and in keeping with the goals and objectives of the Academic Fellowship and Graduate Studies Program, the course instructor of FD09/CHL5609H has the overall responsibility for designing, planning, implementing and evaluating the course curriculum for both the graduate master’s students and continuing professional development students.

The responsibilities of the Course Instructor, assisted by the program director and administrative coordinator include:

1. Overall design of the course

a) Goals and objectives: The Course Instructor ensures that there are well-defined specific competencies and objectives for the course that are aligned with the overall program.

b) Overall plan for course delivery: The Course Instructor ensures that the overall plan for the course is suitable for achievement of the objectives within the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, DFCM & DLSPH and works cooperatively with the administrative staff to implement the course.

c) Collaborative Communication: The Course Instructor is responsible for communicating regularly and in a timely fashion with learners, the program director and administrative team to keep them apprised of curricular developments, to ensure appropriate site support is arranged as necessary for all sessions and assignments. The course instructor is responsible for updating and loading all course material to the Quercus online e-learning platform.

d)The current course is delivered in person with 30-34 in class hours over 4 to 5 full days. It is expected that the course instructor will participate in migrating the course to a blended, hybrid or online format, if the program proposes a delivery modification.

2. Scheduling of the course

The Course Instructor ensures a rational course design. They will ensure integration of covered topics with other courses and avoidance of overlap. The Course Instructor is responsible for scheduling sessions and guest speakers within the course and works with the administrative staff to confirm course dates, avoiding overlap with other courses and recognizing space availability restrictions.

3. Course materials

The Course Instructor ensures that materials (such as readings) for the course are made available to students while being in compliance with copyright policies. The Course Instructor ensures that the syllabus, Quercus course shell and website course description are kept up to date.

4. Student assessments

a) Assignments: The Course Instructor ensures that assessment descriptions and rubrics are prepared and implemented. At least one student assessment must be completed and marked prior to the mid-term of the course and course drop deadline. School of Graduate Studies policy on fraud and plagiarism must be adhered to.

b) Assembly of student marks and final grades: The Course Instructor ensures that all student assessment feedback and marks are published to Quercus within two weeks of completion of the assessment. The Course Instructor will submit final course grades for graduate students through e-Marks as instructed by the DLSPH Graduate Office and by the grading deadline. Continuing education learner final assessments are submitted by the same deadline to program staff.

c) Identification of and provision of assistance to students in need of extra work or possible remediation: The Course Instructor will implement strategies to identify students in difficulty. The Course Instructor will meet with students who are having difficulty or who have not met minimum standards to explore possible contributing reasons for the substandard performance as well as advise them as to how to proceed in order to improve. The Course Instructor will promptly inform the program director of any students experiencing difficulty.

2. Course evaluation

a) Responses to individual student concerns: The Course Instructor is also available to meet with individual students who may have concerns of various types related to their academic performance or the conduct of the course.

b) Course Evaluations: The Course Instructor will adhere to the task requirements of the evaluation periods for implementation of overall course evaluations through the Quercus-housed Blue Course Evaluation system, including setting aside in class time during the student evaluation period for evaluation completion and the parallel system for course evaluation by continuing education learners.

3. Participation in committees

a) The Course Instructor will participate in the Academic Fellowship and Graduate Studies Curriculum Committee throughout the year. These are typically held 3 times per year. There will be one Post-Term Course Meeting individually with Program Directors and administrative staff. The course instructor may be asked to sit on the Admissions Committee and review program applications once a year. All afore-mentioned meetings are currently held virtually.


Required qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 3-5 years of clinical experience
• Experience in Continuing Education
• Preference will be given to candidates with formal health professions education training such as a relevant Master’s degree and health professions education teaching experience
• Hold, or be eligible to hold, Academic appointment(s) through the DFCM, DSLPH & School of Graduate Studies, U of T
• Applications from teaching teams will be considered

Term of Commitment:

Usual Term is 1 year, renewable

Faculty are engaged to teach the course on an annual basis. The ideal candidate would commit to teaching for a longer period of time to provide both growth and sustainability in the curriculum.

The remuneration is consistent with graduate / CPD level course instruction and is set on a yearly basis by the DFCM.

To apply: 

Interested applicants can send a current CV and Letter of Interest to familymed.grad@utoronto.ca
Deadline: April 4th, 2025