Professional Practice Lead
Overview
The Professional Practice Lead applies specialized nursing knowledge and skills to support and innovate quality undergraduate and graduate nursing clinical placement experiences with our valued clinical partner organizations and curricular development with the School of Nursing.
Responsibilities
The Professional Practice Lead (PPL) is responsible for overseeing and supporting high-quality clinical learning experiences across undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. This includes strategic planning, delivery, and evaluation of clinical courses, and may involve teaching or facilitating as needed. Key responsibilities:Provide leadership in clinical education, ensuring alignment with national and provincial nursing standards. Collaborate with faculty and key staff (e.g., Clinical Placement Coordinator, Simulation Lab Coordinator) to maintain consistent quality across clinical learning environments. Organize and manage clinical placements for Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Nursing students, using data and stakeholder feedback to inform planning and reporting. Explore and recommend innovative clinical learning modalities (e.g., simulation, virtual reality) to augment existing placements. Engage with local stakeholders in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario to co-design clinical placement solutions amid health human resource challenges. Contribute to curriculum development and participate in key committees (e.g., BScN Curriculum, MN Committee, Simulation Advisory).Support accreditation and quality assurance processes in collaboration with the Undergraduate Programs Officer and School Director. The PPL is a member of multiple academic and clinical committees and may contribute to research or scholarship related to clinical education. Certification or willingness to obtain training in curriculum development is required. Other duties as assigned by the Director, School of Nursing.
Qualifications
The PPL position requires knowledge of educational strategies and theories and understanding of how to create/facilitate quality clinical learning in nursing, such as that acquired through graduate education studies. The PPL position requires knowledge of clinical nursing and professional nursing communication, such as that acquired in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (or related health care field) and through 3-5 years experience of clinical practice with prior experience in mentorship, student learner engagement, or educational coordination.
The PPL must be registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario with an unrestricted license to practice as an RN, if they are leading a clinical course.
The PPL position requires use of standard computer software including but not limited to Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office (creation of documents and presentations), Excel, and Adobe Acrobat DC (fillable PDFs). The PPL position requires knowledge of various Lakehead University procedures and policies (e.g, School of Nursing policies, Student Code of Conduct, etc.). Knowledge of research and scholarship principles are required in the position of PPL due to requirements for high levels of faculty collaboration.