DescriptionTUFTS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Chair, Department of Family Medicine
Position and Candidate Specification • November 9, 2026
THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY MEDICINEThe Department trains clinically excellent physicians who combine compassionate, patient-centered care with evidence-based medicine, and its faculty explore models of primary care that best serve patients and communities, especially those with limited resources. Its structure is distinctive: rather than concentrating its clinical and graduate medical education activity in a single academic medical center, it works through long-standing partnerships with Tufts Medicine, MaineHealth, Cambridge Health Alliance, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Thundermist Health Center, Lynn Community Health Center, Outer Cape Health Services, Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care, Atrius Health, and many other regional clinical partners. About 450 faculty and community preceptors teach Tufts medical students and family medicine residents at more than 100 sites across New England. Sustaining these relationships is among the Chair's most important responsibilities.
EducationFamily Medicine teaches in all four years of the MD curriculum, an unusually deep footprint for a department of its size. First- and second-year students meet the Department in courses such as Medical Interviewing and the Doctor-Patient Relationship, Physical Diagnosis, and the Competency-based Apprenticeship in Primary Care, as well as in the highly regarded Student Coaching program, where faculty serve as longitudinal coaches for every student across four years. Several key courses are directed by Family Medicine faculty. The six-week required third-year Family Medicine Clerkship pairs each student with a community preceptor for directly observed patient care, plus weekly case-based teaching on campus, at sites from Maine to Cape Cod and Rhode Island. Fourth-year Acting Internships and electives offer additional clinical training. Faculty also lead and mentor in the Sam W. Ho Health Justice Scholars Program and direct key experiences in the Maine Track MD program, through which about 40 students per class train in Maine in collaboration with MaineHealth.
Graduate Medical Education and FellowshipsTufts University has six affiliated family medicine residency programs:
- Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health Alliance
- Lawrence Family Medicine Residency at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center
- MaineHealth Family Medicine Residency
- Portsmouth Family Medicine Residency at Portsmouth Regional Hospital
- Lowell Community Health Center Tufts Medicine Family Medicine Residency
- Thundermist Family Medicine Residency at Thundermist Health Center
These affiliated residency programs offer multiple fellowship programs in addiction medicine, sports medicine, geriatrics, integrative medicine, preventive medicine, reproductive health and advocacy, and academic teaching.
Research and ScholarshipDepartmental research is anchored in primary care: information mastery and evidence implementation, medical education, clinician-patient communication, and models of care for populations with limited resources. Faculty collaborate with the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, and the Center for Health Equity Research, and others.
POSITION SUMMARYTufts University School of Medicine seeks a collaborative, nationally recognized physician-leader as the next Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. Reporting to the Dean, the Chair may be nominated for the Jaharis Family Chair in the Department of Family Medicine and will lead the Department's strategy, operations, faculty, research, education, and finances. The Department of Family Medicine teaches across all four years of the MD curriculum and delivers its clinical and graduate medical education through deep, long-standing relationships with community health centers, hospital and health systems, and safety-net institutions across New England. The Chair will also partner to grow a family medicine faculty practice within Tufts Medicine.
AppointmentThis is a full-time, benefits-eligible position at Tufts University School of Medicine. Fifty percent of effort is dedicated to leading the Department as Chair. The remaining fifty percent is clinical practice at Tufts Medicine, a Tufts-affiliated family medicine residency, or a key clinical affiliate, and may be combined with funded research efforts.
Key RelationshipsReports to: Dean, Tufts University School of Medicine
Direct reports: Course and Clerkship Directors; Faculty; Department Administrator
Other key relationships: Dean's senior leadership team; Department Chairs; Tufts Medicine executive leadership; family medicine leaders at affiliated residencies and clinical partners; community partners, donors, patients, and families
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESLeadership and Institutional Commitment- Develop and execute a departmental strategic plan aligned with the School's plan and the University's plan through 2031. Central to this is advancing researc and educational excellence.
- Build a culture of academic excellence, collegiality, and shared purpose across a geographically distributed faculty.
- Recruit, develop, retain, mentor, and evaluate faculty and staff in accordance with School policy and mission.
- Strengthen the Department's national reputation, and take part in School and University leadership, committees, and fundraising.
Education- Ensure educational excellence for students, residents, fellows and faculty
- Ensure that the clerkship, courses, and electives taught by family medicine faculty are well organized, well taught, and highly rated by students.
- Sustain and grow the network of community preceptors and teaching sites, including development and recognition for community faculty.
- Advance the Department's role in the integrated MD curriculum, the Maine Track MD program, the Sam W. Ho Health Justice Scholars Program, the Sam W. Ho Center for Health Care Transformation, and the 3-year accelerated MD program in development.
- Support the six affiliated residencies and the Department's fellowships, and increase the number of Tufts graduates entering family medicine and primary care.
Clinical Partnerships and Practice Development- Partner with Dr. Nic Nguyen, Chief Clinical and Integration Officer at Tufts Medicine to lead development of a family medicine clinical faculty practice within Tufts Medicine (community need, financial modeling, workforce, and site planning)
- Partner with Tufts Medicine on primary care strategy, access, quality, and value-based care, ensuring new clinical work strengthens rather than competes with existing affiliates.
- Partner with other major Medical School Partners, including residency sites, on growing excellence in education and research.
Research and Scholarship- Promote a culture that values research, scholarship and innovation in primary care, and grow extramural funding and scholarly output.
- Recruit clinician-scientists and educator-scholars, and build collaborations across Tufts and our partners.
- Maintain a personal record of scholarship and, where applicable, funded research.
Finance and Administration- Oversee the Department's finances, annual budgets, and long-term fiscal stability with the School and Tufts Medicine.
QualificationsIdeal ExperienceNationally recognized academic leadership as a Chair, Vice Chair, Division Chief, residency program director, or comparable leader, with a record of developing faculty and an understanding of the economics of primary care.
Distinction in academic family medicine, including impactful scholarship, research funding or program development, national service, and rank of Associate Professor or Professor.
Leadership across a distributed network, working through partnership and influence with hospitals, health centers, and teaching sites that have their own missions, boards, and finances.
Clinical program leadership, with the operational and financial acumen to design and lead a new faculty practice; experience with practice management, ambulatory medicine operations, and value-based care is highly desirable.
MD degree and board certification in Family Medicine; licensed or eligible for licensure in Massachusetts.
Critical Leadership CapabilitiesStrategic and visionary leadership. Articulate a vision for academic family medicine at Tufts built on its community-based model and set an evidence-based course for the faculty practice exploration at Tufts Medicine, including recommending against building if the analysis does not support it.
Collaborating and influencing. Build trust with partner leaders outside the Department's direct authority, and reach durable agreements among stakeholders with differing interests.
Building organizational capability. Recruit and retain faculty across all missions, including community faculty, and create development and promotion pathways that work for a distributed faculty.
Other Personal CharacteristicsThe highest level of integrity and personal ethics; commitment to service of the patients and communities served by Tufts; outstanding communication and relationship-building skills; organizational discipline; and a strong work ethic and drive for meaningful impact.
Application Instructions To apply, go to: https://apply.interfolio.com/197525
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and curriculum vitae. For questions, please contact Dr. Brent Forester, Chair of the Search Committee and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, at . Nominations and inquiries are welcome. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
