Petaluma Health Center logo
Petaluma Health Center
Petaluma, California

Associate Medical Director, Primary Care (MD/DO)

Primary Care 8.5 Work-LifeFull-Time

Listed compensation

$227K - $279K

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

Petaluma Health Center's mission is to provide high quality health care with access for all in Southern Sonoma County & West Marin. We pride ourselves on our Patient-Centered care while maintaining an engaging environment for our staff. The Center accomplishes this mission through collaborative, innovative programs, services and referral resources that meet the economic needs of the entire community.

Full Time Employee Benefits

  • 21 Days of Paid Time Off
  • 10 Observed Holidays
  • Medical Insurance (Entire deductible paid by us!)
  • 30 Chiropractor and Acupuncture visits per year included with enrollment in our health insurance plans (Kaiser and WHA)
  • Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

  • Gym Membership Discounts at Active Wellness Center and 24-Hour Fitness!
  • 401K Matching after 1 year of employment
  • Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care FSA
  • Life Insurance (included at no cost to the employee)
  • Long Term Disability (included at no cost to the employee)
  • Employee Assistance Program (included at no cost to the employee)

Summary: The Associate Medical Director, Primary Care serves as an operational and clinical leader responsible for supervising an assigned team of providers in the delivery of high quality, accessible, patient-centered health care. The Associate Medical Director partners closely with the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer in the implementation of clinical, operational, quality, and strategic initiatives across Primary Care services.

This role provides direct provider supervision, operational oversight, and day-to-day management support for provider performance, scheduling, access, and quality outcomes. The Associate Medical

Director serves as a mentor and leader for providers and functions as a key leadership development role with progressive responsibility toward Medical Director-level organizational leadership.

Area of Responsibilities

Clinical Duties 65%:

Provides for the diagnosis and treatment of health center patients within the scope of his/her license to practice medicine for a specified panel of patients.

Provides back-up for nurse practitioners and physician assistants on site, or by phone during the day or after hours as assigned.

Demonstrates excellence in evidence-based, patient-centered care delivery for diverse and underserved populations.

Participates in organizational quality improvement and population health initiatives.

Leadership Responsibilities 15%

  • Leadership and Administrative Responsibilities Clinical Supervision and Provider Management
  • Provides direct operational and clinical leadership for an assigned provider team.

Ensures provider competency in the delivery of high-quality clinical care through chart audits, direct observation, patient and staff feedback, and clinical performance review.

Collaborates with providers to establish development goals, performance improvement plans, and professional growth opportunities.

Oversees clinical risk management processes at the team level in collaboration with the Director of Risk and Compliance and Chief Medical Officer.

  • Ensures timely credentialing, privileging, onboarding, and orientation of providers.
  • Serves as a mentor, coach, and resource to providers and care teams.
  • Operations, Scheduling, and Access Management

Oversees provider schedule template management to support patient access, continuity of care, panel management, and operational efficiency.

Reviews and approves provider PTO requests in collaboration with operational leadership to ensure appropriate clinic coverage and patient access.

Collaborates with Team Managers, Operations, Nursing, and Front Office leadership to optimize clinic workflows and care team functioning.

Supports implementation of operational initiatives designed to improve access, patient experience, provider efficiency, and care delivery outcomes.

Participates in Operations Meetings, leadership meetings, and other organizational committees as assigned.

Productivity and Performance Oversight

Monitors provider productivity, access metrics, panel performance, and clinical quality indicators.

Reviews operational and clinical performance data regularly and collaborates with providers and operational leaders on improvement strategies.

Assists in the development and implementation of workflows and process improvements to support organizational goals.

Supports accountability for timely documentation, coding accuracy, visit utilization, and provider productivity standards.

Quality Improvement and Strategic Initiatives

Leads team-based quality improvement initiatives and supports implementation of organizational clinical priorities.

Collaborates with Quality Improvement, Population Health, and Informatics teams on clinical systems improvements and health information technology initiatives.

Assists the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer in implementation of strategic initiatives across Primary Care services.

Supports recruitment, retention, engagement, and provider wellness initiatives.

Other Skills and Abilities

  • Knowledge of legal and ethical standards for the delivery of medical care.
  • Knowledge of related accreditation and certification requirements.
  • Knowledge of quality, safety, and/or infection control standards.

Knowledge of current principles, methods and procedures for the delivery of medical evaluation, diagnosis and treatment.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

  • Education/Experience
  • Graduate from an accredited medical school
  • Board Certified MD or DO with current California License and DEA
  • Three or more years experience providing primary care in a family practice setting in good standing.
  • One or more years of previous management experience highly desirable.

Licenses and Certifications

  • State of California Medical License or Osteopathic Physician License.
  • Federal DEA Registration.
  • Medical Specialty License or Certification; Board certified or Board Eligible in Specified Area of Medical Specialty.
  • Must maintain CME as required for certification renewals.
  • Must be CPR Certified.

Required Skills

Language Skills: Ability to read, analyze and interpret common technical journals, financial reports and legal documents. Ability to communicate with customers, regulatory agencies or members of the business community. Bilingual in English and Spanish, both written and verbal preferred.

Key Responsibilities

The Associate Medical Director provides clinical leadership and direct patient care while supervising a team of providers to ensure high-quality, patient-centered services. This role also manages operational workflows, provider performance, and strategic quality improvement initiatives within the primary care department.

Requirements

Candidates must be a Board Certified MD or DO with a current California medical license and DEA registration. A minimum of three years of primary care experience in a family practice setting is required, with management experience highly preferred.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Certifications

DEA LicenseBoard Certification

Key Skills

Staff SupervisionPerformance ManagementEvidence-Based MedicineMentorshipScheduling ManagementClinical DocumentationMedical Diagnosis

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Associate Medical Director, Primary Care (MD/DO) at Petaluma Health Center a 8.5 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as excellent. This places the position in the top 5% in Primary Care — ranked against 1,241 active Primary Care listings on WeekdayDoc.

Primary Care — Physician Career Context

Of the 50 active Primary Care listings this role was benchmarked against, 4% are remote, 54% have no call, 66% require no weekends.

Primary Care pay on WeekdayDoc is up 1.5% vs. the prior quarter (through Aug 2026).

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$253k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $229k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Primary Care Jobs

50 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution50 jobs · 34 employers

14
<$325k
16
$325k-350k
14
$350k-375k
4
$375k-400k
2
$400k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks44 jobs · 34 employers

401k / retirement match
86% this job
CME allowance
64% this job
Sign-on bonus
59%
Relocation assistance
48%
Loan repayment
34% this job

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

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Sutter Health · Foster City, California

$370k-$425k
#2

Primary Care Physician- Arvada

Impact to Health · Arvada, Colorado

$300k-$400k
#3

Optum CA - Primary Care Physician | Banning, CA

$239k-$393k
#4

Optum CA Primary Care Physician | Redlands - West Fern

$239k-$393k
+ 48 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.4this job 8.5
Among the best 10% of Primary Care listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,241 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Petaluma

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$845k≈ 3.7× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,986/mo≈ 16% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
31 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
107.8
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Petaluma Health Center logo

About Petaluma Health Center

Hospitals and Health Care
Petaluma, CA
201-500 employees

Benefits & Perks

21 Days PTO
10 Paid Holidays
Medical Insurance (deductible paid)
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Gym Membership Discounts
401K Matching after 1 year
Flexible Spending Account