Erin Dorman, MS, CHES, a second-year student in the UAB School of Health Professions' Physician Assistant Studies program, has been selected by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) for the 2018-2019 Future Educator Fellowship.

The three-day intensive, held in Anaheim, California, October 24 –27, 2018, focuses on developing skills in three areas

• Foundations in Teaching and Learning: best practices, particularly in dealing with adult-learners.
• Exposure to the Current Educational Environment: current landscape, research opportunities and career growth.
• Leadership and Professional Development: knowledge, skills, networking, communication and strategies for collaborating with peers.

"I am honored to be 1 of only 15 PA students nationwide selected for this fellowship. Before beginning the PA program I worked in healthcare simulation, where I developed a passion for helping students integrate their classroom knowledge with their interpersonal and communication skills and synthesize those skills in a simulated clinical setting," said Dorman, who won the UAB PA Outstanding 1st Year Student award. "I’m thrilled to have the opportunity through this fellowship to learn more about emerging trends, such as simulation, in the world of PA education so that I can develop my skills as an educator in order to teach future health care providers to provide empathetic, patient-centered care.

“We received the largest number of applications to date, from many well-qualified candidates across the country. We were quite impressed with the caliber of your application and your demonstrated interest in PA education,” said Kendall Mealy, director, PAEA Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion, in a letter to Dorman.

The Student Future Educator Fellowship intensive is held in conjunction with the 2018 PAEA Education Forum. The Fellowship is a yearlong program that includes learning modules, collaborative problem solving, and team engagement

Dorman is the second UAB PA student named a PAEA Fellow. Alex Cody, who today serves with the Judicial Affairs Commission of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), was a member of the 2017 –2018 fellowship class

Learn more about Erin’s award and other SHP news here.