Medical Director

Job DetailsLevel: ManagementJob Location: All Clinical Locations - Tuolumne, CA 95379Position Type: Full TimeSalary Range: $242,790.00 - $364,218.00 SalaryJob Shift: DayJob Category: Health CareJOB DESCRIPTION

Join our team at the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center, where we offer more than just a job -- we provide a community-focused environment with competitive salaries, exceptional benefits, and a true work-life balance.

Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, and a 401(k) plan, ensuring you and your family are well cared for. Plus, take advantage of Indian Health Service Loan Forgiveness opportunities to advance your career while reducing your student debt.

Located in the heart of California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, our location offers not just a fulfilling career but the chance to explore a region full of stunning landscapes and outdoor recreation. Spend your days helping others grow professionally and your evenings and weekends hiking through serene mountain trails, kayaking on pristine lakes, or enjoying the charm of historic Downtown Sonora. With its vibrant culture, unique shops, and year-round festivals, you’ll find endless ways to connect and thrive.

Whether you’re seeking professional growth or outdoor excitement, Tuolumne County is the perfect place to build your future. Apply today and start your next adventure with us!

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Title: Medical Director, Primary Care (Family Medicine)

Reports To: Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

Location: Sonora Primary Care and Tuolumne Primary Care

Schedule: Full-time, 80 hours biweekly - approx. 80% clinical and 20% administrative

Status: Exempt

Summary: The Medical Director provides clinical leadership for primary care at Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center (TMWIHC), working under the direction of the Chief Medical Officer. The role blends direct patient care with medical staff leadership: the Medical Director maintains a family medicine panel at 0.8 FTE and devotes 0.2 FTE of protected administrative time to provider oversight, quality and peer review, credentialing support, clinical standards, and accreditation readiness. The position strengthens day-to-day clinical quality and provider accountability across a tribal, rural, integrated-care setting, and supports the CMO in medical staff governance. The Medical Director supports, and does not replace, the CMO; final authority for medical staff governance and privileging decisions rests with the CMO and the governing body.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Practice:

• Provide comprehensive, evidence-based family medicine care across the lifespan to an assigned patient panel, consistent with AAFP standards and the clinic’s scope of services.
• Meet the same productivity, documentation, coding, and chart-closure expectations required of all providers, including the 72-hour chart-closure standard.
• Model best practices in preventive care, chronic disease management, medication safety, and controlled-substance stewardship (CURES), and deliver culturally responsive care to the Native American community.
• Provide continuity, acute, and same-day care, and participate in coverage and call as scheduled.
• Serve as a clinical resource and informal consultant to other providers during clinical sessions.

Provider Oversight and Supervision:

• Provide day-to-day clinical supervision and mentorship to assigned providers and serve as a first-line clinical escalation point, in coordination with the CMO.
• Serve as supervising or collaborating physician for nurse practitioners and physician assistants consistent with California law, including standardized procedures and transition-to-practice requirements under AB 890 and physician assistant practice agreements; confirm scope, required agreements, and any supervision limits with Credentialing and Compliance as law and staffing change.

Quality, Peer Review, and Patient Safety:

• Conduct and support ongoing and focused provider peer review (OPPE and FPPE) under the clinic’s Provider Peer Review Program, in partnership with the CMO, keeping clinical review separate from personnel and disciplinary processes.
• Support quality improvement and clinical performance measurement, including IHS GPRA, HEDIS, and UDS measures, and contribute to AAAHC survey readiness.
• Participate in incident review, root-cause analysis, and patient-safety follow-up.

Credentialing, Standards, and Policy:

• Support credentialing and privileging, provider onboarding, and orientation.
• Help develop, review, and maintain clinical policies, protocols, standing orders, and standards of practice.

Provider Engagement and Coverage:

• Assist with recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and retention of providers, and mentor new and early-career clinicians.
• Support provider scheduling, coverage, and patient access in coordination with clinic operations and nursing leadership.

Regulatory, Accreditation, and Administration:

• Support AAAHC accreditation, IHS and tribal program requirements, and applicable state and federal regulations.
• Attend and contribute to medical staff, quality, and leadership meetings, and represent the medical staff as delegated by the CMO.
• Deputize for the CMO on defined clinical matters as assigned.
• Coordinate closely with the Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Financial Officer, HR Director, Compliance, Credentialing, and nursing and clinic management.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required – Education, Licensure, and Experience:

• MD or DO from an accredited institution.
• Current, unrestricted California Physician and Surgeon license.
• Board certification in Family Medicine (ABFM or AOBFP), current and maintained.
• Current DEA registration and California CURES enrollment.
• Minimum five (5) years of post-residency clinical practice; prior clinical leadership or supervisory experience preferred.
• Current BLS certification, with ACLS and PALS as applicable to scope.
• Eligible to serve as supervising or collaborating physician for NPs and PAs under California law.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in tribal health, IHS, FQHC, or rural and underserved settings.
• Experience with peer review, quality improvement, credentialing, and accreditation (AAAHC or equivalent).
• Familiarity with the NextGen EHR.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and experience serving Native American communities; bilingual ability a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Clinical excellence and current family medicine knowledge across the lifespan.
• Leadership and mentorship, including the ability to hold peers accountable professionally and constructively.
• Sound judgment in separating clinical peer review from personnel and disciplinary matters.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Comfort with quality metrics and data-informed clinical improvement.
• Integrity, discretion, and the ability to maintain strict confidentiality of peer-review and personnel-adjacent information.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

This position requires walking, standing, and sitting for prolonged periods; climbing stairs and stepstools; stooping, kneeling, crouching, balancing, and reaching; pushing, pulling, and lifting to 30 pounds; and raising objects overhead. The role also requires manual dexterity for operating computers, phones, and clinical instruments, as well as hearing, talking, and strong verbal and written communication skills. Repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and fingers are involved. The employee may be subject to outdoor environmental conditions such as heat and cold, and will be required to walk on uneven ground. The position also requires the ability to safely operate and drive a motor vehicle.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND INDIAN PREFERENCE:

Tuolumne Me-Wuk Indian Health Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace.

In accordance with the Indian Preference Act (25 U.S.C. §§ 472 & 473) and Public Law 93-638 (the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), qualified Native American and Alaskan Native applicants will be given preference, provided appropriate documentation is submitted. In-house postings also include Tribal Voting Members.

All positions require cultural sensitivity and the ability to interact respectfully and effectively with diverse tribal communities.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment TB test, background check, and drug screening.

Qualifications