By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

Several students, faculty and staff in the College of Health Sciences are presenting this month at the 2021 annual meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

Karen Clancy, PhD, MBA, BHS, MT; Sarah Kercsmar, PhD; Lisa Smurr-Walters, OTR/L, CHT; and Bailey Fitzpatrick presented Emerging Challenges in Quality Management: Leveraging Partners to Lead the Way on June 10, at the national Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) annual meeting, which is running virtually throughout the month of June.

The presentation discussed industry changes in quality, safety and patient experience, the new Clinical Leadership and Management (CLM) competency-based curriculum, and the incorporation of applied tools and techniques such as the PDSA cycle in the Quality Management course. 

During the session, Smurr-Walters discussed her design of the PDSA cycle assignment and the Rubric Norming Project. The team also emphasized the importance of utilizing industry partners to elevate the quality of health care instruction.  

Clancy, Kercsmar and Caroline Arthur, director of Alumni Relations for the College of Health Sciences, also presented a poster entitled “Cultivating Cats: A Young Alumni Mentoring Program,” that focused on the design and initial implementation of a mentoring program that matches young alumni with current students as they transition to post-graduation life at the annual meeting. This program also provides a way to grow alumni into preceptors as they continue in their careers.

“It was exciting to see national industry leaders engaged and attending our session!” Clancy said. “The work we are doing is innovative and relevant.” 

Clancy is an assistant professor in the CLM program who also supports UK Healthcare through the Office of Patient Experience, while Kercsmar is the Program Director of the CLM program. Smurr-Walters is the instructor of CLM 345-Quality and Productivity Improvement Evaluation, and is employed by UKHC in the Turfland Hand Therapy Clinic while attending doctoral student classes in the Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD Program. Bailey Fitzpatrick is a Human Health Sciences student who provided support and leadership through the HHS 445 – Research Experience in Health and Human Services.

For more information on the conference, visit http://annualmeeting.aupha.org/.