Dr. Paul D. Olson, a critical care and family physician in Minot and clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, has been named assistant dean for the school’s Northwest Campus.

In taking the new position, Olson is assuming the role of Dr. Scott Knutson, who was the assistant dean in Minot for many years.

“I am an avid advocate for the medical community of northwestern North Dakota, and a believer in the need for medical education in our region,” said Olson. “I believe this advocacy encourages doctors to return here to provide care near home. I have always loved teaching and am looking forward to helping our region’s students be successful in their careers.”

A Williston native, Olson completed an undergraduate degree at UND in 1983 and earned his M.D. from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1987. After completing a residency in family medicine in 1990, at what was then the University of North Dakota Family Practice Center in Bismarck, Olson has practiced both family and emergency medicine in North Dakota for more than three decades. He is certified by the American Board of Family Practice and licensed in North Dakota and Montana.

The assistant dean in Minot develops and meets curriculum goals and objectives for the school, provides a resource for volunteer/clinical faculty, recommends physicians for clinical faculty appointments and serves as a student advocate who organizes third- and fourth-year student clinical rotations in the community. The assistant dean also functions as a liaison between Northwest Campus students and the medical school and cultivates links between the medical school and local hospitals/clinics to encourage their participation in the school’s educational mission.

The assistant dean in Minot also helps manage the School’s Minot Integrated Longitudinal Experience third-year clerkship program, in which medical students work with preceptors in each of the region’s many specialties as they follow a panel of patients throughout the year.