Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety

Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research (HPEER)

Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research (HPEER)—Houston Site

The National Fellowship: The VA Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research (HPEER) Program is a nationally coordinated, 2-year advanced training fellowship for doctoral-prepared candidates. Its mission is to develop leaders who educate, evaluate, and innovate in Health Professions Education for VA and the Nation. HPEER Fellows gain expertise in curriculum development and design, educational innovation and research, leadership, and program implementation and evaluation.

Local Programming: Houston is one of 7 national HPEER sites. Each HPEER fellowship site has its own focus areas. In part due to strong partnerships with faculty at the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (IQuESt) and the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (SC MIRECC), fellows at the Houston site have the opportunity to develop skills in:

• Rural health focused research and educational initiatives
• Patient education
• Community engagement
• Implementation science
• Quality improvement

The fellowship is tailored to each individual’s professional development and career goals, with mentorship available across a wide range of interests.

Who Should Apply: Post-doctoral PhDs (e.g., public health, social and I/O psychology, communication) and doctorally- trained clinicians such as nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and social workers, as well as physicians completing their residency training are encouraged to apply. No prior healthcare experience or education training are required.

This is an ideal fellowship for those interested in careers in health professions education, educational leadership, healthcare quality improvement, program evaluation, or patient-centered education.

Former and current fellows include individuals with doctoral training in clinical, counseling, industrial/organizational, and social psychology, public health, education, occupational therapy, and post-residency physicians. Past fellows have obtained faculty and non-faculty positions in various settings including medical colleges, universities, government research centers, and other agencies.  

Fellowship benefits:

• A paid full-time fellowship (stipend plus books) through the VA Office of Academic Affiliations.
• A two-year program centered on fostering development as an educational leader, tailored to the fellow’s individual needs, interests, and goals.
• Interprofessional mentoring on career development and education practicums resulting in scholarly products.
• Personalized training opportunities in education in healthcare settings depending on the fellow’s specific area of interest (e.g., instructional design, evaluation, virtual- learning, curriculum development and implementation, educational research, interprofessional communication, collaboration and teamwork).

Houston Program Directors:

• Alexandra Caloudas, PhD
• Jennifer L. Bryan, PhD

Houston HPEER Faculty:

• Kelley Arredondo, PhD
• Molly Horstman, MD, MS
• Sylvia Hysong, PhD
• Trenton Haltom, PhD
• Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali, MD

Current Postdoctoral Fellows:

• Matthew Brandel, EdD, MA
• Seychelle deVries, MD
• Lourence Misedah-Robinson, DrPh, MPH
• Jessica Watts, PhD
• Alexandra Zingg, PhD, MPH, MS

Requirements:

• US Citizenship
• Doctoral degree
• MD candidates must:
• Have board eligibility (any specialty)
• Have completed clinical training prior to entering fellowship program
• Have a full medical license (or currently applying)

Application materials:

1. CV
2. Cover letter/statement of interest
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Writing sample (e.g., first author publication, dissertation chapter)

Deadline: Rolling submission deadline

For more information or any questions you may have, contact the Education Program Coordinator. Once you have compiled your application materials, please submit your application HERE.

You may also visit the national program’s website at https://hpeer.org/ for more information about the national program.

 Once you have compiled your application materials, please submit your application HERE.

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