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Portland

UNE interprofessional scholars represented at the National Academy Global Forum

Shelley Cohen Konrad, Kris Hall, and Karen Pardue
Shelley Cohen Konrad, Kris Hall, and Karen Pardue

Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW., FNAP, director of UNE’s Center for Excellence in Collaborative Education (CECE) and the School of Social Work, was invited to host a session of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education, an ongoing event sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

NASEM is a coalition of private, nonprofit institutions that offers advice on pressing national and global issues. Cohen Konrad was invited by NASEM’s Board on Global Health, Health and Medicine Division, to host a session focused on health professions faculty for the future.

Cohen Konrad, along with colleagues Karen Pardue, Ph.D., M.S., RN, CNE, ANEF, dean of Westbrook College of Health Professions and Kris Hall, M.F.A., program manager of CECE, presented an interactive virtual workshop on formal faculty development. The team members introduced an original framework for professional development, which they plan to disseminate over the coming year.

The Global Forum was set to take place at NASEM’s Washington, D. C., site in April but was converted from a full-day, in-person format to a two-and-a-half-hour virtual workshop because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hall and Michelle Cote, B.A., staff assistant for IPEC, were cited for their skills in creating highly interactive ZOOM events in response to the pandemic. Their skills enhanced the 30-minute session by bringing participants and presenters together for lively exchange.

Darla Spence Coffey, president of the Council on Social Work Education and Christine Arenson, the new co-director of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, both commented on the quality and vitality of UNE’s session.

Proceedings of NASEM’s Global Forum are published by the “National Academy” and other peer reviewed journals.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.