About me and my role at OnlineMedEd
I’m the Director of Academic and Student Affairs here at OnlineMedEd. Here at OnlineMedEd, my role is focused on ensuring that the implementation of our resources is efficient and seamless for our institutional partners. I collaborate closely with all members of our team, particularly members of our Institutional Success Team, to listen to and address challenges faced by faculty members in integrating hybrid learning tools into their curricula. I love my work because everything we do is focused on learner success; the learner is the guiding star for all our efforts throughout this process.
Prior to joining OnlineMedEd, I was the Designated Institutional Official and Director for Graduate Medical Education at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, PA. I was also an Affiliate Assistant Professor with the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.
I hail from Pennsylvania and pursued my education in-state. After completing a Bachelor’s of Arts in Spanish at Kutztown University, I completed a Master’s of Science in Global & International Education at Drexel University and a Doctorate in Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania. I’m also an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation.
Why I’m excited to be part of OnlineMedEd
I’m excited to work with the great team at OnlineMedEd because I believe in our shared mission to make medical knowledge as widely accessible as possible, and to do everything we can to support medical learner success at all steps of the educational journey. I was also attracted to the particular solutions OnlineMedEd offers, as I’ve always been intrigued with ideas that are “outside the box” of traditional educational models — and hybrid resources are exactly that. Our resources are designed both to support learners as they extend their learning, and to do so while working in conjunction with health professions curriculum. To me this seems like the best of traditional and hybrid methods, and there is growing research demonstrating that models like this work both for learners and work for the institutions and faculty that teach them.
What motivates me
I’m motivated to expand opportunities for anyone who has a desire to learn and grow, and specifically for those pursuing careers in the health professions. For me, there is no higher calling than supporting health care providers who do a tremendous job taking care of all of us as patients — and doing so has never been as critical as it is today. Even more, I’m passionate about making opportunities available for learners who have been historically underserved by education and health care systems in general, and for learners who come from groups that have been historically marginalized and still underrepresented in health professions careers.
The best advice anyone ever gave me
Strive for perfection and settle only for excellence.
Drink more water.
I feel the biggest challenge in medical education today is…
This is a big question as medical education and health professions education overall continue to evolve, perhaps most substantially now with the shift to hybrid learning. The sheer amount of medical knowledge available today — which continues to grow at an exponential rate — means that education programs are continually challenged to tailor curricula to the precise needs of learners at each step of the educational journey. Methods to engage learners must also evolve to meet learners where they are, to ensure the greatest retention and application of learning possible. And all this must be done with societal and patient care needs guiding all decision-making. These challenges are ones that we at OnlineMedEd grapple with every day as we seek to better serve our partners and our learners.
