Clinical Assistant Professor (Pediatrics)

Clinical Assistant Professor (Pediatrics)

Primary Purpose and Essential Functions:

PRIMARY PURPOSES:

Reporting to the Chair of Pediatric Dentistry, the Clinical
Assistant Professor will provide clinical and didactic instruction
within the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Arthur A. Dugoni
School of Dentistry. The faculty members will support the
department's educational, clinical, service, and outreach missions
through excellence in teaching, patient care, mentorship, and
professional engagement. Responsibilities include clinical
supervision and instruction of predoctoral dental students in
pediatric dentistry and special care dentistry across outpatient,
hospital, ambulatory surgery center (ASC), and community-based
settings.

University of the Pacific recognizes that diversity, equity, and
inclusion are foundational to the success of our students, faculty,
staff, and patients. The University values individuals who
demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive learning and
healthcare environment and who support equitable access to
educational and clinical opportunities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

The faculty members will participate as part of an
interdisciplinary healthcare team and contribute to the education
of predoctoral and postdoctoral dental learners, as well as other
healthcare professionals when appropriate.

Emphasis will be placed on the care of children and adolescents,
including patients with special healthcare needs, neurodivergent
individuals, and medically complex populations. The faculty members
will support the department's commitment to improving access to
care, advancing inclusive and neuro-affirming clinical practices,
and preparing students to provide compassionate, evidence-based
care to diverse patient populations.

1. Clinical Teaching and Patient Care:

• Supervise and mentor predoctoral dental students in Pediatric

Dentistry clinical settings.

• Provide instruction in diagnosis, treatment planning, and

delivery of comprehensive oral healthcare for infants, children,
adolescents, and patients with special healthcare needs.

• Provide clinical instruction in behavior guidance, preventive

dentistry, restorative dentistry, trauma management, sedation,
hospital dentistry, and comprehensive oral healthcare for children
and adolescents.

• Promote patient-centered, family-centered, and neuro-affirming

approaches to care for children with developmental, behavioral,
medical, intellectual, and physical disabilities.

• Model and promote evidence-based clinical decision-making,

professionalism, patient safety, and quality improvement
principles.

• Support clinical operations while fostering student growth in

efficiency, communication,

• critical thinking, and clinical judgment.
• Assisting students in developing competencies is necessary to

care for medically complex and special healthcare needs populations
across a variety of healthcare settings.

• Participate in patient care and educational activities within

affiliated community clinics, hospitals, ambulatory surgery
centers, operating rooms, and outreach programs assigned.

• Collaborate with faculty, staff, and interdisciplinary

healthcare providers to ensure highquality patient care and
educational experiences.

• Perform all duties as assigned by the department chair, which

may include additional courses, clinical duties, assisting with
administrative tasks, supporting project management, and
contributing to department operations as needed.

• Have the flexibility to travel to the Sacramento campus when

required, supporting cross campus initiatives and
collaboration.

2. Didactic Education:

• Deliver lectures, seminars, case-based discussions, and

small-group learning experiences within the predoctoral
curriculum.

• Assist with curriculum development, assessment, calibration,

and continuous quality improvement of educational programs.

• Participate in student evaluation, remediation, mentoring, and

academic advising as requested.

• Support the integration of contemporary concepts in pediatric

dentistry, special care dentistry, neuro-affirming care,
interprofessional collaboration, healthcare accessibility, and
evidence-based practice into didactic and clinical education.

3. Service and Institutional Engagement

• Attend departmental meetings, faculty meetings, calibration

sessions, and school-wide events.

• Serve on departmental, school, and university committees as

assigned.

• Participate in admissions activities, outreach initiatives,

continuing education programs, alumni engagement, and other efforts
that advance the mission of the School and University.

• Support interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives and

collaborative healthcare programs involving students, faculty, and
healthcare providers across disciplines.

• Participate in community outreach initiatives that improve

access to oral healthcare for underserved pediatric populations and
individuals with special healthcare needs.

• Contribute to a collegial, collaborative, and inclusive

academic environment.

4. Scholarship & Professional Development:

• Maintain professional competence through continuing education

and lifelong learning.

• Participate in scholarly activities appropriate to faculty rank

and appointment, including presentations, publications, educational
innovation, quality improvement initiatives, or clinical
research.

• Support the advancement of pediatric dentistry through

professional service, leadership, and engagement with organized
dentistry and related healthcare organizations.

Minimum Qualifications:

Knowledge of:

• Contemporary principles and practices of pediatric dentistry,

including prevention, diagnosis, treatment planning, restorative
care, behavior guidance, and management of dental trauma.

• Evidence-based approaches to the care of infants, children,

adolescents, and patients with special health care needs.

• Principles of child development, communication, behavior

guidance, and patient- and family centered care.

• Current standards for infection prevention, patient safety,

medical emergency management, and appropriate use of sedation and
pain control in pediatric dental practice.

• Clinical teaching and supervision of dental students, including

assessment of student performance and provision of constructive
feedback.

• Professional, ethical, and regulatory standards applicable to

the practice and teaching of dentistry in an academic clinical
environment.

• Principles of culturally responsive, inclusive, and

neuro-affirming care for diverse pediatric patient
populations.

Experience:

• Minimum of one year experience providing care to children and

adolescents, including patients with special healthcare needs.

Education:

• DDS or DMD degrees from a CODA- accredited dental school.
• Completion of a CODA- accredited Pediatric Dentistry residency

program.

Licensure and Certification:

• Current dental license California.
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.

Working Conditions:

• Three-day-per-week faculty appointment during a forty-week

academic year.

• Occasional evening or weekend attendance at university,

departmental, alumni, community, or continuing education events may
be required.

• Local travel to affiliated clinical sites, hospitals, community

clinics, outreach programs, or ambulatory surgery centers may be
required.

• Occasional travel to professional meetings, conferences, or

educational programs may be required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Ability to:

• Demonstrated expertise in pediatric dentistry.
• Ability to effectively teach, mentor, and evaluate dental

students in both clinical and didactic settings.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational

skills.

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion,

neuro-affirming care, and patient centered care.

• Demonstrated interest in advancing access to care and

innovative models of pediatric oral healthcare delivery.

Experience:

• Previous academic teaching experience in a dental school or

residency program.

• Experience providing care in hospital, operating room,

sedation, or ambulatory surgery center environments.

• Experience providing care for patients with special healthcare

needs, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, or
complex medical conditions.

• Experience in community-based dentistry, interdisciplinary

healthcare delivery, or special care dentistry.

• Experience in interprofessional education, community outreach,

or collaborative healthcare delivery models.

License:

• Board Certified or Board Eligible by the American Board of

Pediatric Dentistry.

• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification

preferred.

Other:

• Experience and sensitivity in working with people of diverse

backgrounds and cultures.

• Demonstrated experience in advancing social justice, equity,

and inclusion in a university setting.

• Ability to engage and integrate culturally responsive practices

and knowledge in their work.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative but not
definitive of those that must be met by an employee to successfully
perform the essential functions of this job.

• Clinical duties may require standing, bending, reaching, and

maintaining clinical working positions for extended periods.

• May be required to assist with patient transfers and

positioning, including patients with physical disabilities.

• Frequent use of computers, keyboards, telephones, and other

office equipment.

• Ability to sit or stand for prolonged periods while teaching in

classroom, laboratory, or clinical environments.

• Clinical care for patients with complex medical, physical,

behavioral, or intellectual disabilities may require flexibility in
positioning and ergonomic accommodations.

GENERAL: Faculty should have sufficient motor function to execute
movements essential to

providing oral health care to patients.

SPECIFIC: Must possess the motor skills to perform palpation,
percussion, auscultation and

other diagnostic maneuvers, basic laboratory tests, dental
preparations, and diagnostic procedures in a timely manner. Such
actions require coordination of gross and fine muscular movements,
equilibrium, and functional uses of the senses of touch and vision.
Must be able to perform basic life support including CPR, transfer
and position patients with disabilities, physically restrain
children who lack motor control, position and reposition himself or
herself around the patient and

chair in sitting and standing positions for prolonged periods of
time. Must be able to operate controls, use high-speed or low-speed
dental handpieces for tooth preparation procedures, and use hand
instrumentation, including scalpels, for surgical procedures. All
of these skills must be performed within reasonable time
frame.

Special Instructions:

For in-person roles: This is an in-person role,
and the successful candidate must be willing to relocate within
California, preferably within 25 miles of the (City) Pacific
campus.

For online roles: While this is an online
position, Pacific's three campuses are within California and its
faculty and staff are mostly California residents. For
administrative purposes, California residents are preferred. Out of
state hires must be approved either by the Provost and Executive
Vice President for Academic Affairs (for academic hires) or by the
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Finance
and Operations.

To apply, visit https://pacific.peopleadmin.com/postings/32628

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