Are you a nurse leader passionate about transforming primary care and improving patient outcomes? The Practice Improvement Specialist role offers the opportunity to work at the forefront of healthcare innovation by partnering with clinics, care teams, and healthcare leaders to advance patient-centered care. As a clinical expert, you will guide primary care practices through meaningful transformation—helping them implement evidence-based strategies, strengthen care coordination, and achieve Health Care Home (HCH) certification.

In this role, you won’t just evaluate care—you’ll help shape it. You’ll collaborate directly with clinicians and healthcare teams, lead certification site visits, provide hands-on coaching, and use data to drive improvements in quality, cost, and patient experience. Your work will have a direct impact on how care is delivered across diverse communities, supporting better health outcomes and more effective, equitable healthcare systems.

Primary responsibilities include: 

• Provide clinical consultation, coaching, and training to primary care teams on evidence-based, patient-centered care models
• Lead certification and recertification site visits, including planning, evaluation, and follow-up with clinics
• Assess clinic performance against HCH standards and deliver actionable recommendations for care improvement
• Analyze clinical data and prepare reports
• Drive practice transformation by supporting quality improvement initiatives, care coordination, and population health strategies

This position will support and serve assigned primary care organizations located in the southern part of the State of Minnesota. Applicants must live within this region which excludes the metro and stretches from the southern part of west central Minnesota in Traverse County, south to Rock County, East to Houston County, and North to Chisago County. Infrequent travel to St. Paul is also required. 

Minimum Qualifications

• Possession of a current Registered Nurse's license in Minnesota, without restriction.
• Two (2) years of experience working as a Registered Nurse in a primary care or community health setting.
  • A degree in Nursing, Public Health, Health Care Administration, or a closely related field may count towards professional experience as follows:
    • Associates = 6 months.
    • Bachelors = 12 months.
    • Masters = 18 months.
    • PhD = 24 months.

Minimum qualifications that will be assessed during the interview process:

• Experience applying clinical knowledge to support care delivery improvements or patient care management
• Experience with quality improvement methods (e.g., PDSA cycles, performance measurement, or process improvement)
• Experience analyzing clinical or healthcare data and using findings to inform decisions or recommendations
• Experience providing training, education, or technical assistance to healthcare staff or teams
• Applicants must live within Southern Minnesota, which excludes the metro and stretches from the southern part of west central Minnesota in Traverse County, south to Rock County, East to Houston County, and North to Chisago County.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Health Care Home (HCH), Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), or similar care models
• Experience conducting site visits, audits, or formal evaluations of healthcare programs or clinics
• Experience in practice facilitation, coaching, or healthcare transformation initiatives
• Knowledge of population health strategies, chronic disease management, and preventive care models
• Experience working with healthcare certification, accreditation, or regulatory standards

Additional Requirements

• This position requires successful completion of a background check and employment reference check.
• This employment does not require a valid driver’s license, but it does demand travel, which the candidate will be responsible for meeting.

About Minnesota Department of Health

Come work for one of the best public health systems in the nation and you will contribute to our mission to protect, maintain and improve the health of all Minnesotans. We are working hard to achieve our vision for health equity in Minnesota, where all communities are thriving, and all people have what they need to be healthy. Our collaborative, mission-driven work environment is a major factor in promoting a high level of employee health awareness, employee longevity and job satisfaction.

Connections working at Minnesota Department of Health