On Tuesday, September 19, 2023, the Healthcare Educators Academy (HEA) at UAB gathered to celebrate the program’s outgoing and incoming cohort of mentors and mentees. The reception was held at the UAB National Alumni Society House and included faculty and dean participation from across the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Optometry, Health Professions, and Public Health.
The cohort entering in 2023 represents the third overall cohort to participate in the academy and its mentorship program. The HEA’s mission is to cultivate a community and culture of educational leaders and excellent teachers.
Representing the Heersink School of Medicine, Craig Hoesley, M.D., Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education, spoke about the academy cohorts’ achievements. “The Healthcare Educators Academy that we’ve developed here is a gem of this campus and is remarkable,” he noted. “Of the cohorts that have graduated, 10 of these faculty have already been promoted. There have been 59 publications that were co-authored in an interprofessional manner within the academy. Twenty-six of our cohort have received either school-wide or campus-wide teaching awards, and 20 of them have been identified through a competitive application process to be leaders within our health professional schools.”
Through its 2-year program, the HEA seeks to further develop the careers of educators by supporting research and scholarship in the health professions, and encouraging innovation in teaching, learning and assessment. To achieve this goal, the academy is guided by its three pillars of Teaching Others, Career Advancement, and Career Fulfillment & Meaning.
The HEA’s cohort of mentees and mentors reflect participation across the UAB health professions, and during the 2-year program, each mentee completes quarterly meetings with a personally selected mentor from outside their own school. This process fosters the interprofessional mission within the academy.
At the 2023 opening ceremony and reception, mentees of the 2021-2023 cohort were honored for their completion of the program. The outgoing members of this cohort are:
- Dana Mitchell, DNP, ACNP-BC, CHFN
- Tamara S. Oechslin, O.D., PhD, FAAO
- Tamika Smith, Ph.D.
- Bradley Barger, Ph.D.
- Jaron Raper, M.D.
- Adam Edwards, M.D.
- Stefanie Woodard, D.O.
- Danielle Sutzko, M.D., MS, FACS
- Meghan Hofto, M.D., MPH, DTMH
- Haller Smith, M.D.
- Harshvardhan Singh, Ph.D.
- Ramakiran Chavali, BDS, M.S.
The 2023-2025 cohort represents the largest number of mentees in a group to enter the HEA, 11 members representing the Heersink School of Medicine. The incoming members of this cohort are:
- Mercy Aula, Ph.D., M.S.
- Sima Baalbaki, M.D.
- Christine Blass, DMD
- Channing Garber Brown, M.D.
- Luke Burleson, M.D.
- Jewell Dickson-Clayton, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, ATP, FAOTA
- Danielle Edwards, Ph.D.
- Steven Fox, M.D.
- Siddhartha Gaddamanugu, M.D.
- Sarah Gallups, Ph.D., MPH, R.N.
- Amy B. Logan, O.D., FAAO
- Sarah Novara, M.D., MSHQS
- Chinwendu Onwubiko, M.D., Ph.D.
- Zachary Pacheco, M.D.
- Andrew Rothstein, O.D.
- Winn Seay, M.D.
- Deepti Sharma, M.D.
- Teneasha Washington, Ph.D., MPH, MBA
Click here for more information about the Healthcare Educators Academy.