JOB TITLE: Adjunct Faculty

DEPARTMENT: Doctor of Physical Therapy – Arizona

LOCATION: Hybrid – Remote (Phoenix, AZ)

FLSA STATUS: Non-Exempt, Part-Time

REPORTS TO: Program Director, Doctor of Physical Therapy - Arizona

 

SUMMARY:

Adjunct (Associated) faculty support course delivery and assessment, contributing to synchronous class discussions, providing graded feedback for assignments, offering instruction during immersive lab sessions, and ensuring high standards of communication and academic excellence. Adjunct faculty participate in post-course assessments, support the mission and goals of Southern California University of Health Sciences, engage in professional organizations, contribute to special projects, and maintain positive and professional relationships within the university community. Additionally, they adhere to all policies and procedures while fostering their professional development, maintain clinical practice affiliations, and serve as mentors/clinical instructors for DPT students. Adjunct faculty must demonstrate a commitment to the Core Values of the Physical Therapy profession, proficiency in teaching, effective communication, interpersonal skills, attention to detail, and the ability to handle a diverse range of responsibilities within the DPT Program.

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

General Responsibilities

  • All adjunct (associated) faculty members employed by Southern California University of Health Science (SCU) are required to continually enrich and update their education by participating in workshops or seminars each year while employed by the institution.
  • All adjunct (associated) faculty members are expected to maintain professional standards, attitude, and performance levels to ensure effective, safe, ethical, and legal performance in all aspects of the position.
  • All members of the SCU community are expected to develop and maintain professional relationships with all staff, faculty, and students and exhibit positive and professional conduct.
  • Adjunct faculty are appointed each semester to assist with one or more courses during the academic term. The primary role of Adjunct faculty is to assist the faculty in course delivery and assessment activities for distance education and/or onsite lab immersive education courses.

Teaching and Education Responsibilities

  • Contribute to and enrich synchronous class time discussions as available and deemed
  • appropriate by the primary faculty.
  • Provide graded feedback for all appropriate course assignments in accordance with established rubrics or grading guidelines.
  • Provide instruction to students during immersive lab sessions to assist the development of psychomotor and clinical reasoning skills as deemed appropriate by the primary faculty.
  • Provide graded feedback for immersive lab practical examination or skills check assessments in accordance with established rubrics or grading guidelines.
  • Promote adequate standards of linguistic expression in both written and oral communications.
  • Maintain intellectual integrity and strive for academic excellence in teaching.
  • Ensure all teaching and education responsibilities provide for compliance with accreditation policies and procedures.

Service Responsibilities

  • Participate in post-course assessment activities, to include submission of faculty course evaluation, participation in a faculty post-course analysis meeting, and self-evaluation.
  • Attend scheduled DPT Program faculty meetings as appropriate or requested.

Scholarship Responsibilities - N/A

Professional Responsibilities

  • Support the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of SCU and the DPT Program.
  • Participate in appropriate national, state and local professional and scientific organizations.
  • Participate in special projects or activities as requested by the Program Director of the DPT Program.
  • Develop and maintain professional relationships with all staff, faculty, and students in the DPT Program.
  • Conduct oneself in a positive and professional manner as a representative of the DPT Program and SCU.
  • Adhere to all DPT Program and SCU policies and procedures.

Professional Development Responsibilities

  • Participate in annual professional development activities that demonstrate continued education in the faculty member’s area of expertise.

Practice Responsibilities

  • Maintain, in relation to the faculty member’s area of expertise, clinical practice affiliations with area healthcare institutions or physical therapy practices.
  • Prefer Adjunct Faculty serve as a mentor/clinical instructor as able for DPT students at practice affiliation sites as appropriate.
  • Maintain unrestricted license as a Physical Therapist in California or the state of residence.
  • Clinical specialization in a discipline appropriate for teaching responsibilities, as evidenced by academic preparation, board certification, or documented clinical practice.
  • Active in clinical practice, especially as applicable to clinical education.

Education, Experience, and Essential Tasks

  • Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship and relocation allowance is not available for this position.
  • Physical therapist with an active, unrestricted license in California or the state of residence.
  • Earned Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (or tDPT) or terminal doctoral degree (PhD, EdD, DSc, etc) from an accredited university.
  • Prefer Specialist Certification.
  • Must meet and maintain CAPTE qualifications for contemporary expertise in the subject matter taught.
  • Must meet training and background check qualifications and comply with the Protection of Minors policy.
  • Upon hire, the candidate must have reliable transportation to facilitate travel to SCU worksites and other locations as required by the position. This includes access to an airport with regular flights to Southern California, if applicable.
  • Able to teach classes scheduled during days, evenings, and weekends.
  • Successful faculty will be able to work in an environment that utilizes excellent time and stress management skills.

Attendance

Must be punctual and timely in meeting all requirements of performance, including, but not limited to, attendance standards and work deadlines; beginning and ending assignments on time; and scheduled work breaks, where applicable.

Onsite

This position requires as needed onsite support and/or attendance in order to meet the essential functions of the job. Onsite activities may include but are not limited attending onsite lab session meetings, training, and immersion lab.

Intellectual

Synthesizes complex or diverse information, generates creative solutions, uses feedback to modify designs, demonstrates attention to detail, identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner, gathers and analyzes information skillfully, develops alternative solutions, works well in group problem solving situations, communicates changes and progress, completes assigned projects on time and budget, assesses own strengths and weaknesses, pursues training and development opportunities, strives to continuously build knowledge and skills, shares expertise with others.

Interpersonal

Manages difficult or emotional situations, responds promptly to faculty and student needs, solicits student, faculty, and other stakeholder feedback to improve service, responds to requests for service and assistance, meets commitments, develops and maintains courteous and effective working relationships with students, faculty, other stakeholders, vendors and/or any other representatives of external organizations.

Leadership

Communicates changes effectively, builds commitment and overcomes resistance, makes self-available to faculty, solicits and applies customer feedback (internal and external), fosters quality focus in others.

Organization

Demonstrates knowledge of contemporary physical therapy practice, aligns work with strategic goals, analyzes outcomes and adapts strategy to changing conditions. All employees are responsible for observing safety and security procedures as applicable and reporting potentially unsafe conditions to management.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Level 5: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.

COMPUTER SKILLS:

Competent in Microsoft Office Suite, familiarity with collaborative platforms and tools for online communication and collaboration, effective digital communication skills.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

Active unrestricted license as a physical therapist, prefer adjunct faculty are a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES/ QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Strong teamwork skills, teaching style able to help create an environment of inclusion, imbued with kindness, integrity, and determination.
  • Excellent communication skills; verbal, non-verbal, and written (positive or challenging situations)
  • Active listening skills, committed to developing and sustaining strong and substantive community relations
  • Interpersonal Skills – professional, respectful and inclusive, uphold professional values and ethics.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

This position requires the ability to meet the physical demands necessary for the successful performance of essential job functions. Reasonable accommodation will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to fulfill these requirements. While engaged in the responsibilities of this role, the faculty member will frequently be seated, standing, or walking and engaged in verbal communication. Additionally, manual dexterity involving the use of hands for tasks such as finger manipulation, handling, and reaching, along with the ability to maintain close vision and adjust focus, are essential for this position.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment in this position mirrors a clinical laboratory or physical therapy clinic setting, and the following descriptions detail the typical conditions encountered while fulfilling the essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations will be considered to facilitate individuals with disabilities in performing these essential functions. While engaged in the responsibilities of this role, the faculty member may occasionally be exposed to factors such as moving mechanical parts, potentially hazardous chemicals, outdoor weather conditions, and vibrations. The noise level in this work environment typically ranges from moderate to loud.

SCU Core Values:

1) Integrative Health: We teach, learn, collaborate, and lead by creating an open environment for multiple disciplines and professionals to bring their shared and unique skills together for the benefit of patients and students.

2) Evidence-based Practice: We value a culture of inquiry, assessment, research, scholarship, and judicious use of current best evidence to inform our decisions and work.

3) Health Equity: We value people equally. We strive to educate graduates that are prepared to improve individual and community health.

4) Inclusivity: We welcome everyone regardless of age, race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other similar or protected status. We believe inclusivity leads to more diversity in our reasoning, better representativeness in our conclusions, more ingenuity in our problem solving, and greater equity in our care.