Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine

Description

The University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine (SOM) is recruiting a Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. The successful candidate is expected to become a national leader in family medicine and primary care. The SOM serves the five-state region of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI), advancing UW Medicine’s mission to improve the health of the public through excellence in research, education, and clinical care. The UW SOM is unique among academic health systems as a national leader in primary care education and rural medicine training across the WWAMI region while also being a world leader in biomedical research and the provision of innovative quaternary care. The Department of Family Medicine is integral to advancing the missions of the SOM, partnering with clinical sites across the WWAMI region to advance access to high quality health care in the largest geographic region of any academic medical center in the country.

The chair will take the helm of one of the most impactful departments of family medicine in the country. The Department is a leader in primary care research, with centers including the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, WWAMI Region Practice and Research Network, and the Center for Health Workforce Studies, and with expertise across clinical research informatics, health services research, and public health. The Department is also a leader in training providers, with a residency program, three fellowship programs, and a five-site physician assistant training program. The Department also supports the WWAMI Residency Network with 32 independent family medicine residencies across the region. Clinically, the Department has renowned programs in sports medicine, palliative care, integrative medicine, and behavioral health, complementing the practice of primary care medicine.

The chair will work closely with SOM and health system leaders to craft a vision for the future of the Department that builds upon existing strengths and addresses future needs in a period of change for primary care. The Department supports all missions of academic medicine, helping define the future of primary care through training clinicians, conducting research that impacts patients and clinicians, and through delivering high quality equitable care. The chair will also ensure that a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and belonging is maintained in the Department, bringing together diverse faculty, staff, and trainees around the shared missions of advancing medical knowledge and meeting the healthcare needs of the region.

The position is a full-time and tenured academic position at the rank of Professor with an anticipated start date in Summer 2026. Professors hold indefinite appointments that align with a 12-month service period (July 1-June 30). Faculty with 12-month service periods are paid for 11 months of service over a 12-month period (July-June), meaning the equivalent of one month is available for paid time off. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research, and service. Candidates with medical credentials will also engage in clinical care.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY MEDICINE

The Department of Family Medicine is consistently ranked as one of the top departments in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report and is consistently rated by the AAFP as a ‘Top 10 Department’ in placing graduate medical students into family medicine. The Department has approximately 180 paid faculty, 30 residents, six fellows, 100 staff, and 1,400 volunteer faculty. Clinical faculty work across clinical sites including UWMC Montlake, UWMC Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, UW Medicine Primary Care Clinics, and UWMC Stadium Clinic. The Department contains sections of Sports Medicine, Palliative Care, Medical Student Education, Residency, WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network, and Research, and it oversees the Osher Center for Integrative Health. MEDEX Northwest, the regional Physician Assistant training program, is also housed in the Department. The departmental budget is approximately $60 million, including clinical revenue, sponsored research funds, endowments and gifts, state funds, and affiliated hospital funding associated with the academic programs within the Department.

The Department of Family Medicine operates a residency program and oversees the WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network, consisting of 32 core family medicine residency programs and ten rural training tracks/