Position Overview

Sutter Health seeks an experienced internal and highly motivated Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) leader to serve as the Director of APC Clinical Education and Student Placement. This systemwide leadership role is responsible for the strategic oversight, coordination, and continuous improvement of advanced practice clinician student clinical placements across Sutter Health. 

As part of Sutter Health Academic Affairs, this position supports the organization's broader workforce development strategy by strengthening clinical education partnerships, expanding learner capacity, and ensuring high-quality clinical learning experiences for Advanced Practice Clinician including Nurse Practitioner (NP), Physician Assistant (PA), and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) students. The Director will work collaboratively with academic institutions, clinical leaders, preceptors, and operational partners to develop scalable, sustainable approaches to APC education that align with Sutter Health's academic mission and Destination 2030 workforce goals.

This role serves as the central point of leadership for APC student placement activities across the organization and supports the development of a coordinated, systemwide approach to advanced practice clinical education.

Key Responsibilities

APC Student Placement Strategy and Oversight

• Provide systemwide oversight of NP, PA, and CNM student clinical placements across Sutter Health.
• Develop and implement strategies to expand high-quality clinical training opportunities while balancing operational and educational priorities.
• Partner with clinical leaders, service lines, and local placement coordinators to optimize placement capacity and learner distribution.
• Establish standardized processes, policies, and expectations for APC student placements across the organization.
• Monitor placement metrics, capacity utilization, learner demand, and institutional partnerships.

Academic Partnerships

• Serve as the primary Academic Affairs liaison for APC educational institutions.
• Develop and maintain strong academic partnerships to support workforce pipeline goals.
• Collaborate with educational partners to align clinical experiences with curricular objectives and accreditation requirements.
• Support affiliation agreement development and ongoing partnership management.

Educational Quality and Program Development

• Promote excellence in clinical education across APC learning environments.
• Establish standards for learner experiences, evaluation processes, and educational quality.
• Monitor student and preceptor feedback and implement quality improvement initiatives.
• Support development of innovative educational models, including longitudinal, interprofessional, and distributed learning experiences.
• Collaborate with UME, GME, and faculty development leaders to advance educational best practices.

Faculty and Preceptor Engagement

• Develop and oversee systemwide APC preceptor recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies.
• Partner with clinical leaders to identify and cultivate high-quality preceptors.
• Create and support faculty development opportunities related to teaching, assessment, coaching, and feedback.
• Promote recognition and support programs for APC and physician preceptors.

Operations and Administration

• Provide oversight of APC placement workflows, systems, and operational processes.
• Collaborate with Academic Affairs staff and local stakeholders to coordinate placement logistics.
• Ensure compliance with institutional policies, accreditation standards, regulatory requirements, and affiliation agreements.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and performance metrics related to APC education and workforce development.
• Participate in strategic planning and continuous quality improvement activities within Academic Affairs.
• Participate in the Sutter APC Counsel planning and programming.

Workforce Development and Strategic Initiatives

• Support Sutter Health's workforce pipeline strategy through effective APC learner engagement and recruitment.
• Identify opportunities to transition learners into employment pathways within Sutter Health.
• Collaborate with workforce development, recruitment, and operational leaders to align educational activities with future workforce needs.
• Contribute to broader Academic Affairs initiatives related to health professions, education and workforce sustainability.

Qualifications

Required

• Current licensure as either:
  • Nurse Practitioner (NP), or (APRN)
  • Physician Assistant (PA-C)
• Active California licensure and certification.
• Minimum five years of clinical practice experience.
• Demonstrated experience in clinical teaching, precepting, learner supervision, or health professions education.
• Experience leading projects, programs, or educational initiatives.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work effectively across diverse clinical, operational, and academic environments.

Preferred

• Experience in academic leadership, clinical education administration, or workforce development.
• Familiarity with APC educational standards and accreditation requirements.
• Experience managing multi-site educational programs.
• Experience in faculty development, curriculum design, program evaluation, or educational quality improvement.
• Master's degree or doctoral degree relevant to healthcare, education, leadership, or administration.

Leadership Competencies

Strategic Thinking

Ability to develop scalable solutions that support organizational workforce and educational goals.

Relationship Building

Creates strong partnerships across academic institutions, clinical departments, and operational teams.

Educational Excellence

Committed to high-quality learner experiences and continuous improvement in clinical education.

Influence and Collaboration

Effectively engages stakeholders and builds consensus across complex systems.

Operational Effectiveness

Demonstrates strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities across a large health system.

Innovation

Identifies opportunities to improve learner placement processes, educational quality, and workforce development outcomes.

Reporting Structure

Reports to: Director, Undergraduate Medical Education (UME), Sutter Health Academic Affairs

Works collaboratively with Academic Affairs leadership, clinical operations leaders, workforce development partners, educational institutions, and local clinical education stakeholders across Sutter Health.

Measures of Success

• Growth in APC student placement capacity across Sutter Health.
• Successful development and maintenance of academic partnerships.
• Student and preceptor satisfaction outcomes.
• Recruitment and retention of APC preceptors.
• Compliance with accreditation and affiliation requirements.
• Implementation of standardized placement processes and educational quality measures.
• Contribution to Sutter Health workforce pipeline and recruitment goals.

Why This Role Matters

The Director of APC Clinical Education and Student Placement plays a critical role in advancing Sutter Health's academic mission and workforce strategy. By creating a coordinated, systemwide approach to APC student education, this leader will help develop the next generation of advanced practice clinicians while strengthening Sutter Health's ability to recruit, retain, and grow a highly skilled clinical workforce.

Join a dynamic and physician-led organization committed to clinical excellence, collaboration, and career growth. Enjoy a competitive compensation and benefits package, a supportive team environment, and a strong commitment to work-life balance and professional development! 

Sutter Health is a not-for-profit, community-based healthcare system committed to advancing care for everyone. Our teams work together to provide the best treatment and experience for every patient, in every interaction, every day. We know inspired people drive better healthcare. Our focus on patients, people and communities has made us one of the best places to work in California, according to Forbes and Newsweek.

Our Mission

Caring for our patients first and our people always.

Our Vision

To be the most comprehensive, integrated and connected health system for getting and staying well.

Our Values

Excellence 

We deliver high-quality care, have courage to take on the toughest challenges and model stewardship.

Curiosity 

We are constantly learning and creating new ways to advance healthcare. 

Compassion 

We show empathy and understanding in every personal interaction.

Inclusion 

We cultivate a sense of belonging by creating spaces for all of our people to feel valued.

Teamwork

We collaborate with humility to create a unified experience at Sutter.

Integrity 

We earn trust by doing the right thing and delivering on our commitments.

Expanding Our Reach to Serve You Better

Sutter Health is a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system serving more than 3.5 million patients in California. With a sharp focus on delivering comprehensive, exceptional and equitable care, our 14,000+ clinicians and 57,000+ employees serve patients through Sutter's hospitals, clinics, imaging and surgery centers, and home health services.

Sutter patients can access high-quality coordinated care across our entire system. We are continuing to improve access by recruiting more physicians and clinicians into our system and opening 160 hospital beds by 2025 and 25 new ambulatory care centers across our California footprint by 2027. 

Sutter Health is one of the nation’s leading community-based, not-for-profit health care networks of hospitals, physician organizations, and other health care services. Sutter facilities are located throughout California, from the Pacific Coast to the Sierra Foothills, serving more than 100 communities statewide.

• Sutter Medical Group
• Sutter North Medical Group
• Sansum Medical Group
• Sutter Coast Hospital
• Sutter Lakeside Hospital
• Memorial Hospital Los Banos
• Sutter Independent Physicians
• Gould Medical Group
• Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group
• Sutter East Bay Medical Group
• Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods
• Sutter West Bay Medical Group

It is the policy of Sutter Health and its partners to provide equal employment for all qualified individuals; to prohibit discrimination in employment because of basis of race, color, creed, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, registered domestic partner status, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, national origin (including possession of a driver's license issued to individuals who did not present proof of authorized presence in the U.S.), age, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military or protected veteran status, political affiliation, pregnancy or perceived pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical condition, genetic information or any other characteristic made unlawful by local, state or federal law, ordinance or regulation. We promote the full realization of equal employment opportunities through a positive continuing program within each medical group, company, hospital, department, and service area. Equal employment opportunities apply to every aspect of Sutter's employment policies and practices.