Nadine Gauthier is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa and a clinical educator in the Department of Medicine at Ottawa Hospital, pursuing her interests in general cardiology, cardiac diagnostic imaging and medical education. She was a cardiac imaging fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute when she started the Master of Education (MEd) program in 2009. She established her clinical practice in cardiology in 2012 at Ottawa Hospital and was blessed with a young family; she is currently expecting her third child. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s Master of Education program in 2015 and is now serving as the Director of Undergraduate Education in cardiology, leading the Anglophone and Francophone cardiology block. She is heavily involved in postgraduate teaching as the Resident Coordinator for the Division of Cardiology at General Hospital, and she participates in multiple CME activities educating family physicians and allied health professionals in vascular risk factors and cardiac stress testing in order to promote appropriate testing.

Nadine's final master's project looked at the ability of medical students to correctly perform a cardiac physical exam and give an accurate diagnosis after participating in a simulation-based bedside exam training. She is in the process of publishing her findings. Nadine notes that rapid access to cardiac testing and imaging and a paradigm shift in medical education has created multiple challenges for competency-based education of cardiac physical exam skills at the bedside, and training of competent physicians requires innovation in the way we teach cardiac physical exam skills. Her next research project is to develop and evaluate a simulation-based bedside physical exam curriculum for the ambulatory cardiology rotation to meet the needs of the internal medicine program as it moves towards competency-based education.

In collaboration with other universities in America, Nadine is also involved in testing the use of another innovative tool, the ventriculoscope, to teach cardiac auscultation. She has been invited to collaborate on different medical education projects, mostly in curriculum design and protocol writing, given her recently acquired skills. She has participated in multiple other local and national educational activities and was recently invited as Faculty member and teacher for the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Adult Cardiology Trainee Review Program in 2015.

Nadine believes the MEd program has given her the knowledge and confidence needed to shape her early career as a medical educator. She is grateful for the high-level educational experience as well as the mentorship and guidance the program provided. She now has the framework and skills to pursue innovative medical education research as well as to provide mentorship across the spectrum of medical trainees including medical students, residents and fellows.

Welcome Dr. Pam Dillion

We welcome Dr. Pam Dillion as a new instructor, teaching EDST8034 Measurement & Assessment, beginning Summer 2016.


Pam is the Director of Student Services at St. Ursula Villa where she consults with teachers and designs support programs to help students with learning differences to be successful in a rigorous curriculum. Her areas of research interest are learning differences, assessment and measurement, and alternative treatment options for ADHD.

She earned a BA in psychology and secondary education from Muskingum University, an MA in school psychology from Xavier University, and an Ed.D. in Special Education and Literacy from the University of Cincinnati. Her doctoral program included a 650 hour internship in an interdisciplinary training program in developmental disabilities at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She holds both teaching and principal licenses from the state of Ohio. She has worked as an early intervention specialist for Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, a behavior specialist for Cincinnati Public School District, and a learning disabilities teacher for Forest Hills School District.

Pam has taught a variety of courses at Notre Dame College in the TEEL Program over the last 12 years. TEEL was designed for individuals who held a degree in a field other than education but desired to earn a teaching license. Her experience in teaching adult learners in an online format makes this program a perfect fit with her experience.

Congratulations to Melissa Klein for 2016 APA Faculty Teaching Award!

Melissa Klein, MD, MEd,  co-director for the Online Medical Education programs for physicians and health care professionals, was awarded the 2016 Academic Pediatric Association Mid-Level Faculty Teaching Award. The award recognizes excellence in teaching among APA members.

In addition to serving as the medical director for our program, Melissa is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Director of the General Pediatric Master Educator Fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Receiving the award was based on the following:

Melissa’s passion for teaching began in grade school and she has consistently been recognized for her stellar teaching skills. She is a patient-centered teacher and actively pursues teachable moments with her learners. One of her trainees stated, "Whenever Dr. Klein is in clinic, I know the first thing she is going to ask when I come out of the room is what did we learn from the patient."  She has committed her scholarly career to educating others about the impact of the social determinants of health on children. Her passion for this topic continues at a national level as a part of her work on the APA’s task force on child poverty. At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, she directs many of the educational activities for general pediatrics and has created one of the first General Pediatric Master Educator Fellowship training programs while also working as the co-director for the University of Cincinnati Masters of Education program. She was a graduate of the first cohort of faculty scholars from the APA Educational Scholars Program. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for Academic Pediatrics.

 

Welcome Dr. Megan Elam

We welcome Dr. Megan Elam as a new instructor, teaching EDST8034 Measurement & Assessment, beginning Summer 2016.



As a doctorally trained education specialist, researcher, and practitioner, Dr. Elam currently serves in dual roles as manager of Research and Outreach in the School Intervention Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, and as an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati (UC) in the College of Education.

Dr. Elam earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from UC, including a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education (English/Language Arts), master's degree in Special Education, and doctoral degree in Special Education.

Dr. Elam is deeply impassioned about working with others for greater improvement. This passion, coupled with her expertise in pedagogy, education, and training, ensures that she is well-equipped to be an instrument for change. To date, Dr. Elam has invested much of her career in improving educational outcomes for students with a chronic medical condition. Due to vacancies in legislation relative to addressing the educational needs of these students, much of her work has focused on the examination of policies and legislation and advocacy for improved mandates to advance education in this area. Through this work, she has served in numerous national leadership roles, including holding Vice President, President Elect, and Chairperson roles in professional organizations. In a relatively short period of time, Dr. Elam has become a national expert in her field, making distinct and nationally recognized advances toward transforming the educational landscape for students with a chronic condition through national presentations, publications, the development of teacher training and certification programming, and innovative research.

As a lifelong learner who is committed to advancing her professional know-how, Elam has most recently committed to improving her expertise through the pursuit of MBA coursework through the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Each of these experiences has provided her critical opportunities to serve as an impassioned and effective leader, and to guide others to do the same.