Health Professional as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning

Susan Bastable, EdD, MEd, RN-Chair and Professor, Department of Nursing, Le Moyne College

Susan B. Bastable, EdD, RN, currently serves as Chair and Professor of the Department of Nursing, which she founded in 2004, at Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY.  She has 23 years of teaching and administrative experience in higher education at the bachelor’s, master’s, and post-master’s levels. Her area of expertise is in principles of teaching and learning, curriculum and program development, and educational assessment and evaluation. She was inducted into the 2001 Nursing Hall of Fame, Teacher's College, Columbia University. She is the recipient of the 2001 NEAA Nursing Education Award, Teacher's College, Columbia University. She is also the author of Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice (3rd ed. 2008) and Essentials of Patient Education 1st ed. 2006.

Pamela Gramet, PhD, PT-Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy Education, Upstate Medical University

Pamela Gramet, P.T., Ph.D., is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy Education at Upstate Medical University.  During her tenure at Upstate, she has also served in a variety of administrative positions including Department Vice-Chair, Department Chair, and Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education. Dr. Gramet earned her Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies from Syracuse University, her M.S. in Education from Stony Brook University and her B.S. in Physical Therapy, magna cum laude, from Ithaca College. She holds advanced certifications in neurodevelopmental treatment, teaching improvement, clinical instruction, and board leadership.
 
Dr. Gramet has over 30 years of teaching experience and her areas of expertise include education theory and practice, clinical education, neurologic physical therapy, professionalism and complimentary and alternative medicine.  Dr. Gramet was a member of the American Physical Therapy Association task force that developed the first national Clinical Performance Instruments (CPI’s) for assessment of physical therapist and physical therapist assistant student clinical performance. She was also a founding member of the New York Physical Therapy Clinical Education Consortium.  Over the years, Dr. Gramet developed and taught numerous workshops on clinical teaching skills for clinical instructors. She was instrumental in developing the curriculums for both the Master’s Degree Program, and the Professional and Post Professional Doctoral Physical Therapy Programs at Upstate Medical University.  She has served as a curriculum consultant for several graduate physical therapy programs. 

Dr. Gramet is a recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and received Certificates of Appreciation from the New York Physical Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association.  She is also a recipient of the Outstanding Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education Award and a Certificate of Excellence from the Clinical Education Consortium.  Dr. Gramet’s research interests include education, clinical teaching, and the professional and psychosocial aspects of physical therapy.

Karen Jacobs, EdD, OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA-Clinical Professor and Program Director, Distance Education Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Programs, Boston University

Karen Jacobs, Ed.D., OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA is a past president and vice president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). She is a 2005 recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Akureyri in Akuryeri, Iceland; the 2009 recipient of the Award of Merit from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) and received the Award of Merit from the American Occupational Therapy Association in 2003. Dr. Jacobs is a clinical professor of occupational therapy and the program director of the distance education post-professional occupational therapy programs at Boston University. She has expertise in the development and instruction of on-line and on-campus graduate courses. In addition, she has faculty appointments at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, USA and the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Dr. Jacobs earned a doctoral degree at the University of Massachusetts, a Master of Science at Boston University, and a Bachelor of Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Jacobs’ research examines the interface between the environment and human capabilities. In particular, she examines the individual factors and environmental demands associated with increased risk of functional limitations among populations of university and middle school aged students, particularly in notebook computing, backpack use, and the use of games such as WiiFit (http://people.bu.edu/kjacobs/). Most recently, she is co-developing with Dr. Nancy Baker at the University of Pittsburgh, the Telerehabilitation Computer Ergonomics System (tele-CES) for computer users with arthritis. The tele-CES is a remote systematic ergonomics program aimed at substantially reducing work disability among workers with any type of arthritis.

In addition to being an occupational therapist, Dr. Jacobs is also a certified professional ergonomist (CPE) and the founding editor-in-chief of the international, interdisciplinary journal WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation (IOS Press, The Netherlands), which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Dr. Jacobs is the chairperson of the Ergonomics for Children in Educational Environments Technical Committee (ECEE) for the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and the program chair for the Environment Design Technical Group for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). Dr. Jacobs has a small business which provides consulting services in ergonomics and entrepreneurship.

Deborah Sopczyk, PhD, RN-Dean, School of Health Sciences, Excelsior College

Deborah Sopczyk, PhD, RN earned a baccalaureate in nursing from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, an MS in nursing from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Sopczyk has over 30 years of experience in higher education and is currently the Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Excelsior College in Albany, NY. She has also taught at D'Youville and Trocaire College, both in Buffalo NY. Dr. Sopczyk is an expert in adult and distance education. Her clinical practice areas include child health, pediatric oncology and family violence.