Job Description and Role of the Administrator
1
Introduction
The clerkship administrator is fundamental to the
success of the clinical clerkship. The Guidebook
for Clerkship Directors, published by the Alliance
for Clinical Education, identifies the role of the
clerkship administrator as an essential element for
the clerkship director (1, 2).
The clerkship administrators of the Clerkship
Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) have defined
a position description for the clerkship administrator.
This chapter will build on this position description
(Appendix).
Role of the Administrator
The role of the clerkship administrator is multi-
faceted and requires flexibility, insight, maturity,
patience, and the ability to deal with demands
from a variety of sources, from student to medical
school administration. The foremost role of the
administrator is to assist and advise the clerkship
director in managing all aspects of the clerkship.
The clerkship administrator acts as student advisor,
advocate, and policy expert for the clerkship. While
titles, salaries, and degree of responsibilities vary
across the country, clerkship administrators still have
common tasks to complete.
Collaborative Approach
Managing a clerkship requires collaboration. The
clerkship team may consist of the clerkship director,
associate clerkship director, faculty site coordinators,
administrator, and office staff. The “success” of a
clerkship depends, in many ways, on the clerkship
team collaborating with faculty, administrators,
academic departments, and the school as well as
acting dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively
to achieve specific goals and objectives.
The clerkship director and clerkship administrator
should build a positive, collaborative environment
so that the shared educational mission of the
clerkship and medical school can be achieved.
Communication between the administrator and
clerkship director should be open, honest, and as
frequent as necessary; both must be readily available