UofL College of Education & Human Development, School of Medicine Launch New Master’s Degree in Health Professions Education

LOUISVILLE The College of Education and Human Development and the School of Medicine at U of L have launched a new, fully online master of science degree in Health Professions Education (MSHPE).

“The goal of the MSHPE program is to magnify the impact of the health professions educator. Not only do health professions educators improve the outcomes of their patients, but they significantly improve the educational outcomes of their practitioner learners and impact the patients that those learners ultimately care for in the future,” Staci Saner, program director and assistant professor of medicine, said.

Employment in the health care industry is booming, with expected growth of 2.6 million jobs from 2020 to 2030 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The curriculum within UofL’s MSHPE program will meet this need by equipping educators with the skills and expertise to be a highly effective health professions educators.

Additionally, many accrediting bodies are moving towards requesting background knowledge in teaching and learning for health professions educators. This degree will provide this necessary credential.

The new degree plan focuses on the needs for health care professionals who currently teach or plan to teach in their respective discipline — medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy or other health fields — and who want to become effective educators in a clinical or classroom setting.

Graduate programs in HPE — including certificate and degree programs — are viewed by many as a key strategy to contribute to a health professional’s conversion from competent clinician to academic leader, says Susan Hildebrand of the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of Organizational Leadership and Learning.

“The professionalization of the HPE workforce has been driven by a number of institutional and regulatory dynamics,” says

BY CHRISTOPHER DYE

Hildebrand. “Many clinicians have made education the focus of their professional roles, and institutions have responded by creating career tracks, such as clinician educator and scholar.

“Also, accreditation bodies increasingly require that residency leaders have the requisite specialty expertise and documented educational and administrative experience. With this explicit requirement, and with the need to maintain an educational environment conducive to educating the residents in graduate health care education competencies, institutions recognize the value of employing leaders who possess advanced training in education to maintain and improve their residency programs.”

Assistant Professor of Comprehensive Dentistry Wil Abshier has completed the program. “I recommend this program to anyone who just simply wants to be a better educator for their students,” says Abshier. “So many people in HPE are clinicians at heart but have no formal education in teaching. This bridges that gap.” tunity to be a part of this effort to reach our children in a new way.”

Principal Emily Haneline said Lynn Camp Elementary is honored to be selected as the pilot location for the program.

“The safety of our students is always our number one priority and this collaboration with CHI Saint Joseph Health and the Knox County Sheriff Department allows us to extend beyond just our school and provide our students and families with critical knowledge to keep our students safe across all settings,” says Haneline. “We are grateful to Mollie Harris for her vision; without it none of this would have been possible. I am excited to see the impact that this program will have for not only our students, but for students throughout Knox County.”

The Nurturing Children Program at Saint Joseph London is made possible through a grant from the CommonSpirit Health

Mission and Ministry Fund. The goal of the program is to reduce child abuse and neglect as well as child fatality. Schools interested in participating in the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program can contact Mollie Harris at mollie. harris@chisaintjosephhealth.org.

LEXINGTON On January 24, 2023, Lee Dossett, MD, hospitalist and CMO at Baptist Health Lexington, became the new president of the Lexington Medical Society, which was founded in 1799 and is the second oldest medical society in America. Dossett graduated from UK both as an undergraduate and from the UK College of Medicine. He assumed the president’s role from outgoing president Khalil Rahman, MD.

In his acceptance remarks, Dossett named physician advocacy and improving value in healthcare as his two priorities. He stated that “It is our duty to advocate for our patients and ensure that they receive the best care possible. That requires us to be proactive in speaking out about issues that affect the quality and accessibility of healthcare.”

“One way we can do this is through organized medicine,” stated Dossett. He said that in his time as a hospitalist he could see the waste that can be present in the medical system. “I hope to provide information,

Lexington Medical Society Hosts Presidential Transition and Legislative Update

Lee

MD, context, and resources for all of us to do our part to reign in wasteful healthcare spending,” he stated.

Pat Padgett, executive vice-president of the Kentucky Medical Association, relayed results from a survey of its members. Padgett’s survey results showed that administrative burdens were the main cause of stress and it was affecting the personal and professional satisfaction that doctors felt about their work. He specifically noted that 81% of the respondents said that “prior authorization sometimes, often, or always delayed access to care for patients.”

Cory Meadows, deputy executive VP and director of advocacy for the KMA, gave an update to the audience on potential legislative activity in the 2023 Kentucky legislature. Senator Donald Douglas, MD, R-Ky., and Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Ky., spoke about healthcare and their legislative interests.

The next general membership meeting of the Lexington Medical Society is Tuesday, May 9 at the Signature Club in Lexington.

Find more information about the Lexington Medical Society at 859.278.0569 and www.lexingtondoctors.org.