The UAB Healthcare Educators Academy (HEA) is pleased to announce the graduation of its inaugural cohort and the selection of its second cohort.
Launched in 2019, the HEA is an interprofessional faculty development program with funding from the HSF-General Endowment Fund. The group aims to create and support a community of leaders in education and a culture of excellence in teaching.
The first cohort, comprised of 12 mentees, included junior faculty from Schools of Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing, Public Health, and Medicine. Each mentee took on an educational scholarship project as part of their two-year term within the HEA. Mentees were paired with expert faculty mentors for one year (given a new mentor in the second year) to help guide their projects. The HEA places particular emphasis on interprofessional collaboration, matching mentees and mentors from different schools and departments across the professional health schools at UAB.
The inaugural cohort of the Healthcare Educators Academy is celebrating multiple successes with this graduation. Fifty percent of Healthcare Educators Academy mentees received departmental or university-wide national teaching awards or recognitions during their time in the program. Four out of 12 HEA mentees were promoted from assistant to associate professor during their time in the HEA.
Members also executed multiple projects and published research. Five HEA faculty projects focused on designing new curricula for teaching didactic skills to health professions students and residents. Five projects focused on innovative teaching strategies in the classroom, and two focused on preventing burnout and advancing wellness for educators and students. HEA mentees published 14 papers related to healthcare education in national journals, with several others in the process of publishing their HEA projects and research presently.
The 2021 graduates of HEA and their mentors are:
- Mentee: Heather Austin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; Mentor: Desiree Morgan, M.D., professor in the Department of Radiology
- Mentee: Andrew J. Gunn, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Radiology; Mentor: Todd Peterson, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine
- Mentee: Maninder Kaur, BDS, M.S., MPH, assistant professor in the School of Dentistry; Mentor: Dawn Taylor Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Medical Education
- Mentee: Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., MEH, associate professor in the Department of Surgery; Mentor: Stuart Frank, M.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Medicine
- Mentee: April Love, MSN, R.N., RNC-OB, CNE, instructor in Nursing Academic Affairs; Mentor: Laurel Hitchcock, Ph.D., MPH, LICSW, PIP, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences
- Mentee: Will Meador, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurology; Mentor: Michele Talley, Ph.D., ACNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, associate professor and assistant dean for Clinical and Community Programs in Nursing Academic Affairs
- Mentee: Gregory Pavela, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Public Health; Mentor: Anne Zinski, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Medical Education
- Mentee: David Resuehr, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology; Mentor: Tino Unlap, Ph.D., CRA, professor in the School of Health Professions
- Mentee: Carleton Rivers, M.S., RDN, assistant professor in the School of Health Professions; Mentor: Robin Lanzi, Ph.D., MPH, professor in the School of Public Health
- Mentee: Audra Williams, M.D., MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Mentor: Erin Snyder, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine
- Mentee: Maxwell Thompson, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine; Mentor: Britney Corey, M.D., MACM, FACS, associate professor in the Department of Surgery
- Mentee: Rebekah Weil, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine; Mentor: Caroline Harada, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine
The Healthcare Educators Academy launches its 2021-2023 cohort this month, including all original participating schools and departments, with the addition of the School of Optometry.
The 2021-2023 HEA cohort members and their mentors are:
- Mentee: Dana Mitchell, DNP, ACNP-BC, CHFN, assistant professor in the School of Nursing; Mentor: Michelle Brown, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Health Professions
- Mentee: Tamara S. Oechslin, O.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Optometry; Mentor: Tedra Smith, DNP, CRNP, CPNP-PC, associate professor in the School of Nursing
- Mentee: Tamika Smith, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Public Health; Mentor: Keshia S. Elder, O.D., M.S., FAAO, associate professor in the School of Optometry
- Mentee: Bradley Barger, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology; Mentor: Desiree Morgan, M.D., professor in the Department of Radiology
- Mentee: Jaron Raper, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine; Mentor: Stephanie Berger, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics
- Mentee: Adam Edwards, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine; Mentor: Dawn Taylor Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Medical Education
- Mentee: Stefanie Woodard, D.O., assistant professor in the Department of Radiology; Mentor: Dorothy Odgon, MSIS, AHIP, associate professor with UAB Libraries
- Mentee: Danielle Sutzko, M.D., M.S., assistant professor in the Department of Surgery; Mentor: Winter Williams, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine
- Mentee: Meghan Hofto, M.D., MPH, DAAP, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics; Mentor: Meredith Garten, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Public Health
- Mentee: Haller Smith, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Mentor: Susan Black, professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
- Mentee: Harshvardhan Singh, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Health Professions; Mentor: Greg Pavela, Ph.D., associate professor in School of Public Health
- Mentee: Ramakiran Chavali, BDS, M.S., assistant professor in the School of Dentistry; Mentor: David Resuehr, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology