Case Study: Fitzsimmons

“The goal was to introduce learners to a vulnerable patient population of aging adults who had chronic complex conditions, including mental health comorbidities,” Fitzsimmons said.
Third, Fitzsimmons recently attended an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) national conference where she presented at combined educational sessions for clinical practitioners on faculty development and leadership. Fitzsimmons also presents IPE to the various clinical education sites and other national IPE events.
Fourth, she is a board member of the National Professional Consortium of the APTA and is transitioning to the nomination committee.
Fifth, she teaches a session with colleagues in the School of Medicine and the Office of Medical Education called
“Capitalizing on Teachable Moments.” Participants in this course are required to complete an online module prior to the workshop. By the end of the course, participants should be able to implement and improve on IPE-based teaching skills. This session is one of many workshops that allows UCSF faculty to receive an IPE teaching certificate.

International Level Involvement
Fitzsimmons’ involvement at the international level is through attendance at international IPE conferences. She attends Collaborating Across Borders between locations in Canada and the United States every two years. This conference began in 2007 and focuses on IPE and interprofessional practice. The conference hosts not just educators, but also clinicians, students, researchers, and policy creators. The next conference will take place in early October.
On the alternate years, she attends the All Together Better Health conference held in various U.S. states and other countries, where Fitzsimmons has had the opportunity to present in Virginia, Japan, and the upcoming conference in Canada. Most recently, she presented in a faculty development educational session workshop.
In the future of IPE and IPC, Fitzsimmons would like to see more themes incorporated to educate students on pertinent issues at the start of their careers. This includes: increasing the quality of patient improvement initiatives, health disparities, social determinacy of health, and diversity inclusion issues.
IPE proves to be important not just for students, but faculty as well, and the university provides avenues in which IPE faculty can receive support.
AME and Educator Portfolio
One way UCSF cultivates IPE faculty is through the Academy of Medical Educators (AME). AME was created in 1999 as a program that supports the educational mission at UCSF and rewards teaching excellence through small IPE grants.
Initially, only School of Medicine faculty were involved with AME, but now it welcomes all faculty. Fitzsimmons and Kimberly Topp, PhD, PT, are the only PT faculty who are on AME. Topp is a Professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and is the Vice Chair of the IPE Executive Committee, where she organizes IPE opportunities for students.
One of the things that AME has fixed in the past few years is the Educator Profile, which deals with faculty advancement and promotion. In 2013, the AME assembled an action group to improve the Educator Profile. The educator profile is a four-part application that is a part of the advancement program, and specifically goes through the CV Advancemet process overseen by the Academic Senate.
Recently, Fitzsimmons submitted an Educator Portfolio in
Advance.
“I benefitted from using the Educator Portfolio as a means to document my primary creative endeavor of teaching, as opposed to research or clinical endeavors,” Fitzsimmons said. “I found it valuable to do an Educator Portfolio, because it highlights my teaching time and effort.”
The Educator Portfolio allows a faculty member to highlight their direct teaching and mentoring; curriculum development, instructional design, and technology; educational leadership; and a learner assessment. These sections have lengthy answers and data that include anything from roles the faculty has held to research methods.
“The amount of time put into the Educator Profile shows just how time intensive a career in education is,” Fitzsimmons said.
Upon completion, the profile is circulated to Departments, Schools, and the Academic Affairs Office for review during advancement and promotion actions.
“IPE is something I am passionate about, because my nature has always been to work in a very diverse setting, and the Educator Profile allows me to show a part of that diversity through teaching,” Fitzsimmons said.

Journey to UCSF
After working with people in various lines of work at Toyota and through working in diverse settings, Fitzsimmons completed her dissertation on IPE’s role in clinical practice. It was published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education and recently announced at a national meeting she attended.
“I love my colleagues in PT, but what keeps me at UCSF is the ability to collaborate with physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and nurse practitioners,” Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons also felt drawn to UCSF because of the University mission.
The steps Fitzsimmons has taken to UCSF she describes as “circuitous,” and not the usual order. However, she encourages those pursuing a career similar to hers to explore opportunities that “knock on your door, even if they don’t necessarily make sense at the moment.”
“When I was a clinician and took the opportunity in automotive marketing it came full circle in helping with my communication skills and my ability to work with people outside of physical therapy,” Fitzsimmons said. “Sometimes we make career decisions only with our heads, but I think we have to also go with our hearts too and follow our passions.”
When Fitzsimmons is not actively involved in academia, she enjoys outdoor activities, such as: backpacking, camping, and open water swimming with her dog and wife throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. She once hiked from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans 2,650 miles, but her favorite places to hike are the Northern Cascades National Park and Goat Rocks
Wilderness.

Created by UC Board of Regents Standing Order 105, the UC San Francisco (UCSF) Academic Senate is empowered to exercise direct control over such academic matters as admissions for degrees and curricula, which are of central importance to the University. The UCSF Division of Academic Senate provides an independent forum to discuss faculty-related campus wide academic concerns. In other areas, the Senate exercises an active advisory role. The Academic Senate works within the larger body of UCSF, a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.