School faculty, leadership present at ASAHP national conference

School of Health Professions faculty and leaders presented at the 24th Annual Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions Conference, held in Atlanta Oct. 8–10.

The conference’s theme was Blazing the Trail: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Higher Education and Health Professions. The School of Health Professions was a platinum sponsor of the conference. 

“The ASAHP annual conference provides an opportunity to learn from national leaders about current trends in health professions education,” said School of Health Professions Senior Associate Dean David Henzi, EdD, who participated in several presentations at the conference.

Faculty presentations included:

• School of Health Professions Dean and Professor David Shelledy, PhD, RRT, FASAHP, FAARC, and Director, Academic Assessment and Compliance Venessa Kodosky, PhD, shared findings from an analysis of resource assessment surveys and student course evaluations designed to determine which program resources are most clearly associated with students’ ratings of courses and instruction as “Excellent.” Their presentation was titled “The Effect of Health Professions Program Resources on Students’ Ratings of Courses and Instruction.”
• Kodosky and Shelledy also presented “Current Motivations Associated with Allied Health Career Choice,” they shared survey findings indicating that top career choice motivations among health professions students at UT Health San Antonio are: a desire to help others, to contribute to society, and an interest in health care, degrees offered and jobs. 
• Assistant Professor Cathy Torrington Eaton, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Director of Clinical Education Angela Kennedy, SLP-D, CCC-SLP, both of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, presented “An Interprofessional Experience for Improving Communication with Aphasic Patients.” They shared findings from a study funded by ASAHP’s 2023 Interprofessional Collaboration Research Grant that sought to give future health care professionals skills to improve their communication with aphasic patients. The study found significant improvements in student learning following the training.
• Henzi and Kennedy joined others from UT Health San Antonio to present a session on the benefits of campuswide interprofessional education (IPE). They shared outcomes of a clinical IPE activity implemented by Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC), UT Health San Antonio’s Quality Enhancement Plan. The campuswide launch included 757 students across 11 educational programs and had a threefold purpose: to facilitate interprofessional socialization, to empower students to evaluate IPE clinical learning environments, and to prepare students for real-world interprofessional collaborative practice settings.
• Henzi also participated in a presentation by the ASAHP Partnership and Alliance Committee on increasing industry partnerships in allied health curricula to better prepare students for the job market.