Hiring: Opioid Response Network Clinical Training Outreach Project Director

PAEA seeks a PA faculty member with experience directing clinical sites efforts to join us as the Director of the Opioid Response Network 2 (ORN 2). The position is funded at 0.8 FTE through a subaward from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) State Opioid Response Grant to the American Association of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP). This is a temporary position that is available for immediate hire and is funded through September 29, 2022. The position may be remote or local to Washington, DC.

PAEA is partnering with AAAP to achieve its aim to address the opioid crisis by increasing access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and reducing opioid overdose-related deaths through the provision of prevention and recovery services. The focus is the expansion of PA student clinical training opportunities in mental/behavioral health and addiction.

Primary Responsibilities

The purposes of the PAEA ORN 2 effort are to facilitate clinical training experiences for PA students, including exposure to patients with mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders in clinical settings, and to address a lack of familiarity with PAs among mental and behavioral health providers, educating them about the workforce pipeline benefits of training PA students. This will be accomplished through two parallel efforts undertaken concurrently in both years of the subaward:

• Establish and grow connections and relationships with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment provider organizations such as the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Osteopathic Academy of Addition Medicine, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association. The project director will attend six (6) annual conferences and meet with the organizations’ leadership to educate them about the training of PA students and the suitability of graduates as a workforce pipeline for mental and behavioral health practices treating patients with SUD.

• Connect MAT-waivered PAs, NPs, and physicians where PAEA’s 20 PRAC-ED-PA SUD grant partner programs are located. Students from these programs will not only have taken the MAT waiver training, but they will also have completed the 8-hour PRAC-ED-PA SUD curriculum.

• Expand facilitation for mental and behavioral site development to all interested PA programs as success is attained with the PRAC-ED-PA SUD grant partner programs.

Qualifications

• A PA faculty member with a strong clinical practice and clinical coordinator background that includes primary care and/or caring for patients with SUDs.
• Demonstrated leadership skills as this role includes devising a comprehensive outreach strategy with potential preceptors and interacting and networking with other health professions’ leadership on a national and regional level
• A background in project development and management, evaluation, and scholarly work
• Flexibility, including responding to meeting requests on short notice and traveling and working on weekends as required

Compensation level is competitive with the market and includes benefits.

PAEA encourages submissions of Letters of Interest (LOI) and a current CV in advance of subaward funding. Interested candidates should email their LOI and CV to Lynn Heitzman and Dave Keahey, MSPH, PA-C, at lheitzman@PAEAonline.org and dkeahey@PAEAonline.org. Questions about the position are encouraged and may be emailed to Dave Keahey.

PAEA is an equal opportunity employer and is seeking qualified individuals from all backgrounds and experiences.