Educational Landscapes

Camille Brockett, DNP, FNP-BC, AGACNP is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Nell Hodgson-Woodruff School of Nursing and the Interim Specialty Director for the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. In this episode, Camille talks about her journey into academia (from senior clinical instructor through to a ranked faculty member) and how serving as an education leader requires skills that are a combination of leadership, mentorship, and collaboration in order to support both faculty and students. Her words of wisdom include "leadership, to me, is less about managing tasks and more about really connecting with people, whether those people are students, faculty, colleagues, and really just creating a sense of trust and collaboration among the people that you are leading. Taking the time to listen and understand what the needs are of the people that you're leading. So you can be an effective leader, you just don't want to be a leader in name, but you really want to be effective.", "don't forget to take care of yourself and also giving yourself grace. Not everything is going to work out perfectly all the time, all at once and as you want it. You want to be able to celebrate small wins, learn from your setbacks, and also trust that you are truly making a difference." and "Don't be afraid to use your voice. I think it's really easy for that imposter syndrome to take root sometimes in us, and just know that you are in a particular space at a particular time for a reason, right? Nothing is happenstance, and this is just my belief. And that you have something to offer, never feel like you have to prove yourself to someone or you have to change courses in order for someone to see you. Just stay the course. Do the best that you can be, know that you are worthy, you bring value to the table, and just be authentic to who you are and people will connect to that". Resources Woodruff Health Educators Academy | Emory University | Atlanta GANational League for Nursing HomeNational Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties

Philip Shayne, MD is the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and ACGME Designated Institutional Official at Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode, Philip talks about his journey from residency through private practice back into academic settings. He talks about recognizing early on that he wasn't as interested in research and instead pursued educational leadership roles, starting with Emergency Medicine program director, as an alternate path in academia. During his time at Emory, with support from his leaders, he has had multiple opportunities to lead locally and nationally which helped prepare him for his current leadership roles. His words of wisdom include "you need to find opportunities where you can influence a group of people, so you might make an educational or procedural or something like that. You've got to really love the job.", "There are a lot of people who think, "I have all this experience, but I've never done that," and they're more than competent to do the job. You really just need the aptitude and the love for the position." and "You've got to love what you do." Resources Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical EducationCouncil of Residency Directors in Emergency MedicineReview Committee MembersACGME Home

W. Michael Caudle, PhD is the Director of Graduate Studies for the Environmental Health Sciences PhD program at the Rollins School of Public Health. In this episode, Mike talks about his journey from trained laboratory scientist to discovering his passion for teaching and mentoring. He highlights how important continuing professional development is as the various skills needed to be an effective educator or leader aren't typically taught in PhD or postdoctoral training, therefore educators have to teach themselves or find other resources for that skills training. His words of wisdom include "really focus on being reflective, being able to reflect back on your own experiences and appreciating those experiences and being able to leverage those experiences as you're engaging with students, but at the same time, to be flexible. So understanding that each of those interactions is going to be different and that it's not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution to whatever the issue is." and "If you are someone who maybe doesn't see yourself in the educational space, don't close that door because there are a lot of different ways to educate. It does not have to be in a classroom. It does not even have to be in an academic setting. You are an educator in your community. You are an educator at your dinner table. So there are a lot of ways to educate, to mentor, and to facilitate." Resources Intersections: The Education Journal of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center | Emory University | Atlanta GA

Calli Cook, NP, DNP, APRN, FNP-C is the Specialty Director for the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. In this episode Calli talks about her journey as a nurse, exploring various specialties (e.g., ICU, mental health) until finding that working in a neurology practice was a good fit. Calli talks about how important her experiences in various leadership roles from when she was an undergraduate student through nursing training until now as an NP educator helped her become the servant leader that she is. Her words of wisdom include "I think patience is really important. I mentioned that as soon as I graduated, I wanted to hit the ground running, being a leader, but each role prepared me for the next role. So knowing that your first leadership role is not going to be your last and it is a preparation for the next, and to be patient as you go through each of those roles, and to take something with you, and to really pause and enjoy each moment." and "Remember that it's progress, it's not perfection. It takes a life to learn how to live. It takes a career to learn how to be an excellent educator. Each step is a step to becoming a better version of yourself as an educator. So learn from your mistakes and move forward, innovate, and inspire the next generation of healthcare providers." Resources English Teacher Weekly substackAmerican Academy of Neurology: Neurology Resources | AAN

Danielle Roberts MS, MMSc, PA-C is the Associate Chief of Education for Advanced Practice for the Winship Cancer Institute, Director of the Emory Hematology/Medical Oncology Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship program, and a society leader in the Emory Physician Assistant (PA) program. In this episode Danielle talks about her journey, starting with her academic work as a "lab rat" writing protocols for clinical trials and discovering that she enjoyed having students or people that were learning with her as a preceptor. This led to opportunities to supervise people, but ultimately Danielle realized "[supervising] it wasn't for me. It was really the education part that I find joy in my job and really wanted to continue on." Danielle talks about the importance of mentorship throughout her ongoing career and the individuals who have played a role her professional growth. Her words of wisdom include "if you think it'll work, try it. It never hurts to try. And if you don't try, you never know. And just enjoy and love what you do because if you love what you do, you're going to be successful at doing it." and "we have to be willing to kind of work... sometimes work a little bit extra, work a little bit differently in order to achieve those goals." Resources WHEA Teaching Fellowship | Emory University | Atlanta GA

Dimitri Cassimatis, MD is a small-group advisor and course co-director for the cardiovascular pathophysiology course in Emory University's MD program. He is also Chief of Medicine at Emory Midtown Hospital. In this episode Dimitri talks about his journey from being a physics student to biochemistry student (working as a patient transporter) to pre-med student to internal medicine resident to cardiology fellow to ultimately his current roles as an attending. Dimitri also talks about his experiences being open to opportunities and enjoying the process of becoming the various roles he's taken on. His words of wisdom which include "I tell that to students that they should not stress themselves out about picking the one right thing that there are usually lots of right things. You just have to pick one of those right things and make the best of it and go with it."; "your job that you start out with right after training is just a starting point, and that from that you tailor that to where you enjoy spending time first by volunteering in those areas and then looking for paid opportunities in those areas to really shore up the amount of time you can spend there and that you can really tailor your career in many different directions depending on where your passions are." and "remember that education is a skill. You build it by practicing it and by paying attention to the feedback and trying to do things better, so look for opportunities to practice it. I would also remind everybody who's going to become a clinician that education is part of what you do every day with your patients. If you're going to be patient-facing, you're going to be educating your patients, and having skills to educate them is extremely important in being a good clinician for them. So even if you don't consider yourself an educator, if you're a clinician, you are an educator."

Melissa (Moose) Alperin, EdD, MPH, MCHES is director of the Executive MPH program at the Rollins School of Public Health and runs a training center, funded by HRSA, providing training to the public health workforce in the eight states in the Southeast. In this episode Moose talks about how, while pursuing a liberal arts education, she stumbled into public health by discovering something called community health, then eventually went on to get a master's in public health, specializing in health promotion education. Further, while she initially pursued a PhD program in in instructional technology, she ultimately entered a different program and completed an EdD in higher education management. Moose's words of wisdom include "I think it's so important to like what you do and to more than like what you do. And then I think once you have found what it is that you love to do, that we talked about this earlier, but surrounding yourself with smart people and capable people and a team and being willing to take risks when something isn't working." Resources National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)Home - Society for Public Health Education - SOPHEHome - GPHA: Georgia Public Health AssociationAmerican Public Health Association — For science. For action. For health.

Kelly L. Wiltse Nicely, PhD, CRNA is program director for the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia, DNP Program and educator director on the board of directors for the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. In this episode Kelly talks about her journey from rural Michigan in which access to the healthcare system meant folks left their community and didn't have their social support systems with them through to lead a successful DNP program that is built with the idea of community; building clinical sites and a program with the idea of meeting our community's needs. Kelly's words of wisdom include "find yourself in a place where you get to be comfortable being uncomfortable. You can do more than you realize and find those people that can see your potential, who will cheer you on, who will open doors for you. Those mentors are priceless, and they will help you realize all of the dreams that you want to realize. And also know that those dreams will change, and it's okay that they change. And go with what your passion is, go with what's going to make you happy because this life is too short and your work days are too long to not enjoy what you do." and "I always recommend finding the most accomplished people you can to join your team and then make it your mission to provide them with the resources and support to do the things that they love. If people love what they do, they're going to want to spend time doing it, they're going to want to spend time with their colleagues teaching them and helping them learn and grow. And then you'll find that the work that you're doing, you're able to do it better, faster, stronger." Resources International Association for the Study of Pain

Ryan Haumschild PharmD, MS, MBA, CPEL is now Vice President of Ambulatory Pharmacy at Emory Healthcare in the Winship Cancer Institute. At the time of recording this episode he was Director of Pharmacy at Emory Healthcare in the Winship Cancer Institute. In this episode Ryan talks about how he recognized his passion for pharmacy early in life thanks to his dad's role modeling, and how he recognized the importance of obtaining pharmacy and business knowledge and skills in order to be successful in his roles as a leader. Ryan's words of wisdom include "I think none of my successes are with me personally, but it's that huge support structure [e.g., parents, wife, daughters, trainees, employees] that I think has enabled us to be so highly successful for our patients and our providers." and are summarized in the following quote: "Education is so important, and the impact you can make on the lives of others I think is invaluable. And also at the end of the day, when you are educating others, it brings value to your life and theirs, and you have such meaningful relationships. And never underscore the importance of what you're going to be educated on by teaching others and how much you can learn from others in even kind of that educational environment. Even if you are the teacher, I think there's so much to be learned. So enjoy the journey, understand where people are coming from, be passionate about what you do, engage people in the process, and you'll be able to make such a positive impact in this world." Resources ASHP Certified Pharmacy Executive Leaders - ASHPASHPAJMC - Managed Care News, Research, and Expert Insights

Rachel Corbett is Associate Director of Academic Programs, in Rollins School of Public Health's department of Behavioral, Social, & Health Education Sciences. In this episode, Rachel talks about her journey as a first generation college kid who always wanted to be in a role where she was helping people but didn't know what that looked like. Her journey working in higher education started as a reentry and enrollment specialist, involved going back to school for a masters in counselling, and ultimately led to her current role, serving as a hub of support for students and developing a comprehensive approach to helping students navigate these spaces. Rachel's words of wisdom include: "lean into that network at work so that they can share opportunities with you and things that might enrich your experience even more beyond just the service you provide for students, faculty or whoever's in that space that you work in.", "If you want to work in an educational space, don't think just about K through 12 or about being a faculty member, but think about those supportive roles that also enrich the student experience.", and "I don't think there's any wrong path to take to where you want to be. And sometimes we don't even know what, sometimes we have no clue what the steps are going to be, but be mindful of, again, what makes you feel well." Resources GLTalk LLC. (Girl, let's talk.)BLKHLTHOrganizational Development | Emory University | Atlanta GAHome - Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)Rollins School of Public Health | Departmental ADAPS

J. William Eley MD, MPH is Executive Associate Dean of Medical Education in Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode Bill talks about his journey from planning to be a high school chemistry teacher to ultimately pursing medicine and public health degrees. He also speaks about his passions for building community and meaningful relationships with others. Bill's words of wisdom include "do the next right thing in front of you and it will lead you to those places that you feel fulfilled and you are helping others", "if we feel we're in a place where we're able to use our talents to do good work to help other people, what else can we ask for our work life?", and "we have to develop meaningful relationships with our learners. It is essential to everything positive that we do on this earth." Resources The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)CBCT® | Cognitively-Based Compassion Training - Emory University

Trina Geyer, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC is Director for Nursing Leadership and Development at Emory Healthcare. In this episode Trina shares her passions for professional development and talks about the importance of recognizing that we are all leaders, "regardless of your title, your position, your role, your practice setting, you bring leadership capabilities to the work that you do" and that asking questions is important because "sometimes you don't know what you don't know, and individuals might make assumptions about what you don't know. So if you don't ask questions, if you don't seek clarification, it can hinder your growth and stagnate your growth opportunities". Her other words of wisdom include "if individuals can tap into something that they love and are passionate about early and then develop that over time, that's great. But if you cannot, that is also okay. Life will present many opportunities, and as long as you are learning, you are always winning, you are always growing, and eventually you will be on a path to get you to where you are supposed to be." Resources Sigma Home PageANPD - The Association for Nursing Professional DevelopmentAmerican Organization for Nursing LeadershipFrom novice to expert : excellence and power in clinical nursing practice | WorldCat.org

Yolanda Hood, PhD is Assistant Dean for Enrollment Management and Multicultural Affairs and Executive Director for the National HCOP [Health Careers Opportunity Program] Academy at Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode Yolanda talks about her full-circle journey from being a product of Atlanta Public Schools [APS] to leading pipeline programs such as Summer Science Academy and EPiC that introduce APS students to opportunities in higher education and provide mentoring and education to help prepare them for matriculating into various higher education programs. Her words of wisdom include "seek mentorship. You don't know what you don't know until someone points it out" and "If you just see someone that's, in my opinion, rocking it and doing great things, ask. Meet with them and see if they would be willing to sit down and talk to you and eventually, that becomes a mentorship relationship." Resources AAMC - Group on Student Affairs (GSA)AAMC - Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI)AAMC - Equity, Diversity, & InclusionEmerging Leaders | Emory University | Atlanta GAExcellence Through Leadership | Emory University | Atlanta GA

J. Richard Pittman, MD is Sub-Internship Director for Internal Medicine and Stanford Clinical Training Program Facilitator in Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode Richard talks about his journey in academic medicine (and his passion for technology!), starting from a primarily clinical role to a "teaching doctor". He talks about the importance of interpersonal communication and listening skills, continually cultivating one's own knowledge, and empathizing with learners as keys skills for an educator and education leader. His words of wisdom include: "the most important thing about being a teacher is to really be an enthusiastic learner." "...when you do to start, you're probably not going to be a good educator if you think, 'I don't educate until I know it all.' But really seeing yourself as a co-journey or a co-traveler. And I know enough or I know a little bit more than them and I give it a go, and then I'm willing to learn from my own mistakes as a teacher." and "my mindset about succession planning is, and again, I got this advice from Dr. del Rio who's leading figure at Emory, but it's like that most jobs have a cycle time of somewhere between seven and 10 years. And that at the end of that period, it's probably a good idea for another person to be able to take it forward. And so, I really do kind of believe that while I pour my whole self into whatever role I'm doing, that often... It might be like writing a paper, if you've revised it a whole bunch, that you get to a point where you can't anymore and you need someone else to look at it, and I think that that'd be the way I think about a program. And so, I very proactively am always thinking about that, even though I'm really happy in the role that I have." Resources ACP Internal Medicine MeetingSociety of Hospital MedicineAbout - AAIM: Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM)Stanford Clinical Teaching Program

Beth Ann Swan, PhD, RN, FAAN is Associate Dean and Vice President for Academic Practice Partnerships and Interim Associate Dean for Education in Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University. In this episode Beth Ann talks about the importance of finding joy every day in what you do and introduces us to the concept of reverse mentoring and the three P's that guide her work: "people, partnerships, and performance". In reflecting on her career to date, Beth Ann talks about the importance of having mentors and how important it is to be open to new opportunities. Her words of wisdom include: "[it is] important for a person to know they have to really commit to the role and put their whole self in. You can't be half in and half out of leadership, you have to be all in. You have to be open to the infinite possibilities and when I say that it's the good things and the not so good things." and "You don't have to be the smartest person in the room, you can be that person who asks all the questions and I think people are better for it by asking." Resources American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN)Woodruff Leadership Academy HomeWharton Nursing Leaders ProgramNurse Leaders | AONLNLN HomeAmerican Association of Colleges of NursingRobert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows

Gina Shannon, MAT is Director of Human Simulation Education Center, Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode Gina talks about her journery from teaching theater and dance at a college prep school to working as a communication coach and simulated/standardized patient through to her current leadership role. Gina is a strong proponent of experiential learning and as an education leader, she talks about how important it is to "cultivate a team that champions failures, that recognizes mistakes are okay" and "recognizing that our failures or mistakes can also fuel our successes". Her other words of wisdom include: "making sure that you're cultivating work environments that people feel like they can work, ask each other questions, and be able to support one another. If something happens and someone can't come in or do different parts of their work that someone else can pick it up." and "To be an educator, you also have to be a learner and become familiar with how you best learn." Resources Find Your WHY – Simon SinekSimulation in HealthcareAssociation of SP EducatorsSociety for Simulation in Healthcare

Shawana S. Moore, DNP, MSN, CRNP, WHNP-BC is Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University and President for the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health. In this episode Shawana talks about her journey from thinking she would be a marine biologist to her current role as a women's health nurse practitioner. Shawana talks about how equity and community are at the forefront of the work she does whether it is working with learners or leading in an organization. Her words of wisdom include: "lead from exactly where you are and seek mentorship to help support you on your leadership journey" and "being engaged and involved in formal leadership training is helpful as well." Resources Sigma Home PageAACN Leadership DevelopmentWoodruff Leadership AcademyNLN Leadership InstituteNational Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's HealthEmory University Post BSN DNP / Post MN DNP

José M. Villalón-Gómez, MD, MPH is program director for the Family Medicine Residency Program, Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode Jose talks about how his passion for education started as early as high school and how his mentors encouraged him to remain curious and try new things. As an educator and leader, he sees his roles as helping the future generations of physicians or learners and society in general. Some of his words of wisdom include: "I think this kind of position / role, we have to perceive it and treat it as a marathon. It's not a sprint. If you take it as a sprint or short race, you're going to get fatigue, you're going to get tired. That's where the burnout comes in. So you have to come in with a marathon runner perspective of find your pace, find your tempo, so then you can be an effective leader." and "I think that's one of the beauties of education is that knowledge is constantly changing and growing, and you have to really expose yourself and get out of your comfort zone to be an effective teacher. Because you're going to be teaching younger generations that are in a different mindset than the framework that you use to learn. So you have to adapt to those. And I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy teaching is it keeps your heart young despite your body getting old." Resources Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM)AFMRD : Association of Family Medicine Residecy DirectorsResidency Leadership Summit | AAFP

Will Bundy, MMSc, CHSE is Director of Simulation for the Master of Medical Science program in Anesthesiology at Emory University School of Medicine. In this episode, Will talks about his journey from a learner to his current roles as an educator and leader in the same program he graduated from. His passion for simulation has led to developing a joint sim or an interprofessional simulation where learners get to practice communication and teamwork in their future roles. Will's words of wisdom include "learn from everybody. Learn from the people that are obviously your teachers. I learn from my students all the time. Learn from your clinical preceptors. Learn from your coworkers. Everybody's got something that they can teach you, and rarely is a day going to go by where you can say you haven't learned anything new. Just being open and receptive to that puts you in the position where this is something that you can pursue." Resources WHEA Fellowship in Educational ScholarshipSociety for Simulation in Healthcare

Liz Walker, PhD, MPH is Director of the Office of Evidence-Based Learning and Director of Graduate Studies for the MPH program in the Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences (BSHES) at the Rollins School of Public Health. In this episode Liz talks about her "winding journey" from a history and biology double major in college, through a master's in teaching, to ultimately an MPH and PhD program in BSHES. Throughout her journey, her passion for education has been at the forefront and plays a central role in her educational leadership roles. Liz's words of wisdom include "give yourself grace. You can't learn everything all at once. And it'll take some time. And to make those relationships and lean on the other people who have either done it before or going through it with you, because that is crucial." and "Having your support system of like-minded people who can nerd out about teaching, and share ideas, and just be there has been really important.... I guess find your people." Resources Home - Society for Public Health Education - SOPHEAssociation of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) – The Voice of Academic Public HealthCenter for Faculty Development and Excellence | Emory University | Atlanta GA