Newsletter September 2026 Edition | | |
Discover what's happening in the world of Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) at UTMB and how you can be a part of it!
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Parikh's Portion
Dr. Ashley Parikh shares a message from the Office of Interprofessional Education & Practice.......
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Greetings!
As we begin the 2026–2027 academic year, the Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice is pleased to welcome our students, faculty, staff, clinical partners, and community collaborators to another year of learning, discovery, and meaningful teamwork at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).
At UTMB interprofessional education (IPE) is central to preparing future health professionals to communicate effectively, collaborate across disciplines, and deliver safe, high-quality, patient-centered care. This year, we look forward to continued engagement through the IPE core curriculum and additional collaborative initiatives offered by our office.
“At UTMB, interprofessional education is more than a graduation requirement, it is a commitment to preparing learners to work as highly effective teams in service of patients, families, and communities,” said Dr. Katie Branch, Vice President of Interprofessional Education and the Health Education Center. “As we welcome the 2026–2027 academic year, I am inspired by the energy and dedication of our students, faculty, and staff. Together, we will continue to advance interprofessional collaborative practice.”
The Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice invites all members of the UTMB community to participate fully in the opportunities ahead, whether by engaging in IPE learning activities, facilitating IPE student experiences, contributing to interprofessional scholarship, or partnering in programs that bring varied perspectives together to improve health outcomes.
Welcome to a new academic year! We are excited to learn with, from, and about you.
Ashley Parikh, EdD, MSHS, PTA
Director, Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice
University of Texas Medical Branch
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September 11
Greater Texas Gulf Coast Engage Me Series
In person
7:30am-9:30am
September 22
BaFa' BaFa'
In person
3pm-5pm
September 23
IPE Team Talk
Virtual
3pm-4:30pm
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September 29
TeamSTEPPS
Virtual
3pm-5pm
September 30
Engage Me: Suicide Prevention
Virtual
10am-12pm
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IPE Team Talk Podcast Series
National IPE Experts on
Wednesdays from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in Teams
Moderator
Dr. Ashley Parikh, EdD, MSHS, PTA
Director
Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice
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September 23, 2026
Dr. Susanne Lindqvist, PhD, PFHEA, MSc, QTS, BSc,
EMCC EQA Practitioner-Level Coach
Professor of Interprofessional Practice, Chair of the UK Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE), and Director of the Centre for Interprofessional Practice (CIPP)
University of East Anglia (UEA), Head of Year 1 for the MB BS Programme at Norwich Medical School
Topic:
Medical Students Working as Healthcare Assistants: Evidence, Impact and Implementation
A Synthesis of Four Studies
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Spotlighting Excellence in OIPEP
Celebrating the People who make Interprofessional Education and Practice Thrive at UTMB
| | Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) cannot happen without dedicated IPEP Champions. Behind every IPEP activity, every team training, and every community project are dedicated faculty, staff, and student leaders who believe that healthcare is stronger when disciplines work together. This issue's Spotlight Excellence in OIPEP recognizes a few of the many individuals across UTMB whose everyday commitment builds a culture of collaboration for our students, and for the community at large. | | |
Our first September spotlight goes to a nursing educator at UTMB whose reach spans local, state, and international interprofessional work. Kimberly Abraham, DNP, RN, CNP, School of Nursing Assistant Professor for the RN-BSN Program, in late July, presented at the Sigma Nursing International Congress in Toronto, Canada, sharing an interprofessional, interactive workshop on Bridging the Gap in Digital Literacy, developed with an UTMB reference librarian and RN-to-BSN students. In August, she helped lead the TeamSTEPPS Masters Training Course and followed it with a virtual TeamSTEPPS 3.0 training for the Texas IPE Consortium, extending UTMB's influence on team communication training across the state. She also serves on the OIPEP Disaster Day Committee, helping lead the hands-on activities that prepare students from multiple health professions to respond together in crisis scenarios.
Our second spotlight goes to Kelly Grace, PhD Assistant Director of Departmental Research at Health Education Center, who presented at Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA) Global Conference, 24-27 August 2026, in beautiful Brisbane, Australia on LLM-assisted Mixed Methods Network Analysis: Combining Large Language Models with Network Science for Applied Research for Interprofessional Education and Practice.
Spotlighting our very own UTMB OIPEP Director and Coordinator, Ashley Parikh, Ed.D., MSHS, PTA, and Zoeieann Townsend, BS, LCDC, ADS, whose abstracts were accepted for presentation at the NEXUS Virtual Summit 2026, hosted by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education on September 24.
Ashley will present “An Interprofessional Education Approach to Address the Stigma and Burden of Migraine and Cluster Headache in All Settings,” and Zoeieann will present “Interprofessional Communities of Practice in Social Media Spaces: Influence, Engagement, Hot Topics, and Gaps.”
The Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice (OIPEP) is proud to recognize the people who help make OIPEP move forward. Their work, often happening quietly behind the scenes, ripples outward into classrooms, clinical spaces, and into communities far beyond Galveston.
Know someone who deserves to be recognized in a future Spotlight Excellence in OIPEP feature? Reach out to the OIPEP office we would love to celebrate their contributions too.
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Upcoming IPEP Scholars Meeting
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
12pm-1 pm
HEC 3.200
Interested?
Click Here to Join
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GREATER TEXAS GULF COAST ENGAGE ME SERIES
(GTX-GEMS)
Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action, Building a Healthier Future Together
| | Registration for Fall NOW OPEN | | |
All GTX-GEMS events are free and open to the greater UTMB community and general public
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September 11, 2026
University of Texas Medical Branch
Levin Hall Dining Room, Second Floor
301 University Blvd
Galveston, TX 77550
Respiratory Disease Care and Prevention
Panelists
Jacquelyn Johnson-Minter, MD, MPH, MBA
Regional Medical Director (South Texas)
Texas Department of State Health Services
Gulshan Sharma, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President, Chief Medical & Clinical Innovation Officer
Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine
Professor, UTMB
David Vines, PhD, RRT
SVP & Dean
School of Health Professions, UTMB
Jose Rojas, PhD, RRT, RPFT
Immediate Past President, Texas Society for Respiratory Care
Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Development
Associate Professor
School of Health Professions, UTMB
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Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, The Office of Interprofessional Continuing Education, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Office of Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE), The University of Texas Medical Branch is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards have the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit
Credits
The Office of Interprofessional Continuing Education, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, 1.5 nursing contact hours & 1.5 SW Ethics hours. Attendees should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
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Newsletter Prepared by Armalita Dosseh, Program Manager
UTMB Office of Interprofessional Education & Practice
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