Community College Anatomy Physiology Education Research (CAPER) 2.0: Looking for Participants

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This post is from the CAPER Team, including Chasity O’Malley, Murray Jensen, Kerry Hull, Ron Gerrits, Kyla Ross, Suzanne Hood, and Betsy Ott. 

A Few Questions and Answers

Community College educators are busy people, especially in the new normal that we are currently living in and making the best of with COVID-19.  One aspect that rings true just as much now as in the recent past is that there rarely is time or opportunity for meaningful professional development.  That’s where the Community College Anatomy Physiology Education Research (CAPER 2.0) project comes into play. The goal of the CAPER 2.0 project is to help educators become involved in a small community of dedicated educators who wish to explore different ways to run a classroom in more engaging ways.  If funded, and that’s a big “if,” participants will have the opportunity to explore evidence based instructional practices including clickers, small group learning, guided inquiry, and more.  We had a good response to our first blog announcing and describing this project, and below we are answering a few frequently asked questions that have arisen from those interested folks.  If you are interested in signing-up, fill out this form or contact Chasity O’Malley or Murray Jensen.  

  1. When does CAPER begin?
    • Tentative start is for Fall of 2021 if the grant is funded.  The project proposal is due in December, 2020, and we hope to receive word (funded or not funded) from NSF by June or July of 2021. 
    • We aim to have 12 participants in the first cohort (one cohort per year), depending on availability, schedules, and workloads of the interested faculty. Opportunities for those who are unavailable for this first round will have opportunities to join in the 2nd -4th rounds (years) of the projects.  There are a lot of opportunities to work with us, so hopefully one of the cohorts will fit into your schedule. 
  2. What would the time commitment be for the CAPER program?
    • When educators are involved in this program, they can still be teaching full time and do the work for this project.  They will be busy, but everyone in the first CAPER project has found the workload to be manageable.  
    • We are proposing that instructors are involved for two years in this project.
      1. The first year will involve the HAPS-I courses and research design for the project. 
      2. Year two will be implementation of the research project to collect data and to publish the results.
  3. What’s involved with the HAPS-I courses?
    • Typically, we meet online and then we hope to meet in person for a day or two at a HAPS Regional conference in the Fall.   The grant would cover tuition and expenses for the conference. 
    • Class is anticipated to meet 1 time per week, in the evening, for about 2 hours for 2-3 months. Participants will be expected to attend the lectures, do the pre-readings and assignments, and participate in discussions during class. 
    • Participants from CAPER 1.0 found the workload manageable for the course, but does indeed require time and effort to complete.
    • There will be two 1-credit classes that will both be completed in one semester.  The first class is titled Teaching Practices for Anatomy and Physiology and will cover basic learning theories, such as constructivism, and examine how those theories fit into different teaching strategies, such as cooperative group work, guided inquiry learning, and other Evidenced Based Instructional Methods (EBIPs).  The second class is titled Introduction to Educational Research Methods and will examine how education researchers collect and interpret data, and also learn how to design a classroom research project. The final project of the second class will be a research proposal, to examine the effectiveness of an EBIP of your choosing, that you will then implement the following semesters.
  4. How are research topics chosen? Are the projects individual or group projects?
    • Participants get to pick their own topic for their classroom research project.  Some instructors might do “clickers” and others might do “guided inquiry.”  A wide range of options exist.  We will provide help in the decision-making process, and with the research design, but we want instructors to pick their own topics.  What instructional practice do you wish to explore?
    • There will be two products completed by each participant. First, a poster that will be presented at an annual HAPS Conference.  Posters will be completed on an individual basis, but you will have help from mentors and education research experts.  Second will be a research paper documenting your results that will be submitted to The HAPS Educator, or other peer reviewed journal.  The papers might be individual, or might involve a small group of participants who have similar research projects.  Keep in mind that mentors will help with writing, research design, statistics, and other parts of the publication process.
  5. What does the grant provide for participants? 
    In addition to extensive support from the CAPER grant personnel, the grant will provide the following:
    • Tuition and supplies for the two, 1-credit, HAPS-I courses.
    • Stipends to cover food, registration, accommodation, and travel to attend three conferences over the 2 year period: a Fall HAPS regional conference in year 1, the SABER West conference in January of Year 1, and the HAPS National Conference in Year 2. Participants will have to pay these expenses up front and will receive the stipend after the conference.
    • An additional small stipend for completing the program.
  6. What is needed from me at this time?
    • Your interest is all we need at this time. As we get closer to submission, we will ask for a letter of support from you and a school administrator.  (Administrative support is vital for success in this project).
    • Finding out the name of the IRB contact at your institution would be very helpful at this time as well. We will have quite a bit of work to do with your school’s IRB administrative committee, but we will be providing considerable help with that process.
  7. Is this opportunity open to K-12 instructors? 
    At this time, we are focusing only on two-year community, or technical, college Anatomy and Physiology instructors.
  8. Is this opportunity open to adjuncts?
    Yes, adjunct instructors are welcome to become involved. This could be a wonderful opportunity for adjuncts looking to attain full time employment to be able to demonstrate their commitment to improving their teaching craft and the experience for the students. This would look GREAT on a CV for employment.  However, adjuncts must have administrative support from a college. 
  9. I still have questions that weren’t covered here. Who do I contact?
    • Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Chasity or Murray. Contact information: Chasity O’Malley (chasityomalley@gmail.com) or Murray Jensen (msjensen@umn.edu )
    • If you haven’t filled out the form to share your interest with us, please fill it out and put your questions in the box that asks for questions. 

As questions emerge about the project and new information become available, a live Q&A document can be found here.

Links:

CAPER 2.0 Interest form (Sign up here)

CAPER 2.0 Initial Blog Posting

CAPER 1.0 Description

Anatomy and Physiology Education Research Project – Call for Participants!

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This post is from the CAPER Team, including Chasity O’Malley, Murray Jensen, Kerry Hull, Ron Gerrits, Kyla Ross, Suzanne Hood, and Betsy Ott. 

Have you thought about making changes in your classroom, but lacked the time and resources to do it?  If so, keep reading, because we have an opportunity for you. 

 What’s this about?

We are in the final year of the NSF-funded Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research (CAPER) program, in which we worked with twelve community college instructors to expand their knowledge base about teaching and learning and conduct a simple education research project.  We are now planning for CAPER 2.0, and hope to give the opportunity to at least 30 new participants. 

 Who can participate?

A&P instructors who want to improve their classroom teaching skills, especially those teaching at community and technical colleges with large numbers of underserved student populations.  We are also recruiting instructors at four-year colleges, especially those with links to nearby community colleges. Experience in education research is not required. 

What would I do?

Over a 2-year period, participants will engage in the following activities: 

  • Complete two 1-credit HAPS Institute hybrid courses covering best practices in Anatomy and Physiology education and the fundamentals of education research.
  • Conduct a small research project in their own classrooms and present their results at a HAPS annual conference and in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Participate in a multi-institutional research project investigating the impact of different teaching practices in different student populations

 What are the benefits?

  • Involvement in a supportive community of engaged instructors 
  • Mentorship from experienced researchers, as needed, to complete all stages of the research project (experimental design and implementation, statistics and qualitative analysis, poster construction, and article writing)
  • Funding to attend at least three conferences:
    • Year 1 (September-November):  the in-person portion of the teaching and learning course will be combined with a HAPS Regional meeting
    • Year 1 (January): the in-person portion of the education research course will be combined with a SABER West meeting in Sunny California
    • Year 2 (May): participants will present their poster at a HAPS Annual Meeting
  • Funding for the two HAPS-I courses
  • A modest financial reward for completing all the components of the CAPER 2.0 project. 
  • Potentially, the provision of funds for teaching buy-outs (i.e., course load reductions)
  • Opportunities to support the teaching and research goals of future participants by acting as a mentor (which would involve additional funded travel)

 

How do I join in on this amazing experience?

A survey for interested individuals can be completed here. 

If you are interested in learning more, contact Chasity O’Malley (chasityomalley@gmail.com) or Murray Jensen (msjensen@umn.edu).   

For more information on the first CAPER research project, see these references:

 

Arts, Anatomy and Medicine Part 1

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“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

         My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains

         One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:

‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,

         But being too happy in thine happiness, —

        That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees

                        In some melodious plot

         Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,

                Singest of summer in full-throated ease. ”

Decades back, as a part of my school curriculum in India, I was introduced to this poem, “Ode to a Nightingale,” written by the famous British poet John Keats. Although I couldn’t have predicted it at the time, I would eventually get to learn about Keats on a hot summer day in London, almost 200 years after his death. Besides this “reunion” with Keats, the summer of 2019 brought me many exciting experiences.  It was truly like a fantasy world for people passionate about anatomy.               

Travel always plays an important role for enlightenment and cultural exchange. As Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” Over the years, I passed through London Heathrow Airport several times, but never had the chance to visit the city of London. Then, all of a sudden, I got a unique opportunity to visit London and two other great cities of Europe as a participant in an Art and Anatomy program led by the great anatomy professor Kevin Petti.  This was not just a tourist visit; this was a Leonardo-inspired journey. Though on my way I was humming “London Bridge is falling down,” I was the one falling down with excitement during my visit to London — along with twenty-two other anatomists and physiologists, professors and medical professionals.                                                                                                                        

Soma 1 Tower bridge
A view of Tower Bridge

Our journey was full of surprises. Our first visit was to the Apothecary Museum, where I discovered for the first time that John Keats was an Apothecary by training from Guy’s College at King’s College, as well as a poet by passion.  The word apothecary means “store house” according to its Greek and Latin roots, but it has come to mean “pharmacist,” a profession that has led to the general medical practitioners of today.

Soma 2 apothecary museum
Apothecary Museum at London

King’s College is a prestigious institution in London which is the home of 22 Nobel Laureates, but I approached it with mixed feelings. After all, Rosalind Franklin’s Photo 51 was taken at King’s College, then taken by others without her knowledge. But when we entered the Gordon Museum of Pathology at King’s College, my ambivalence vanished, and I was able to appreciate one of the world’s largest museums of pathology, which houses 8000 pathological specimens from the last few hundred years. In addition to these specimens, the Gordon Museum also houses Joseph Towne’s 19th-century anatomical wax models, which include unimaginable and incredible details of structures like blood vessels and muscles.

Som a 3 art and anatomy group
Art and Anatomy 2019 Group at Gordon Museum of Pathology with Dr Kevin Petti. Taking pictures of specimens are not allowed in the museum.
(Photo credit: Museum staff)

Before we were about to depart, Dr. Edwards, the Curator of the Gordon Museum of pathology, took us to meet Mr. Alan Billis, the 21st century mummy. This is another experimental success and milestone in modern science to understand the process of mummification that had been discovered centuries ago. Following the wish of Taxi Driver Mr Billis, who died of lung cancer, his body was the first mummified after almost 5000 years in the same way as the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. It was an incredible feeling to realize again how advanced ancient civilizations were like Egyptians in their knowledge of chemistry to perform the process of mummification thousands of years back to preserve the bodies.

Soma 4 museum small group
From left Dr. Kevin Petti, Dr. Roberta Ballestriero, Dr. William (Bill) Edwards and Me. (Photo credit: Laura Bianconcini)

If you want to know more about Art, Anatomy and London, stay tuned for my next blog post.

(Note: Pictures in this blog are taken by by the author unless otherwise mentioned.)  

Dr. Soma Mukhopadhyay did her Masters in Zoology and her Ph.D. in Nuclear Medicine in Calcutta, India, and subsequently did postdoctoral research in Cellular Physiology at the College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati. She is a Lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences, Augusta University, and has also taught at Pennsylvania State University, University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, University of South Carolina. Her areas of research are cardiovascular physiology and molecular evolution as it relates to human anatomy & physiology. Her passions are music, art, and photography.

 

HAPS 2020 Virtual Conference Days 4-6

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We are now mid-way through the HAPS 2020 Virtual Conference.

Friday brought us together with a welcome party hosted by McGraw Hill. We got the chance to meet some new HAPSters and catch up with old friends. In a large web call like this, sometimes it is difficult to be heard, but Mark Nielson called on people by name to give updates so everyone had a chance to speak. We discussed how universities are handling the current situation, provided suggestions for fellow HAPSters, and congratulated Melissa Quinn on her recent award.  And of course, poor Bill Perrotti was subject to a few jokes, but he was a good sport about it. All attendees agreed it was a very “HAPSy” event. A big thank you from all of us to Valerie Kramer for hosting the event.

On Saturday and Sunday we learned from our exhibitors. Overall, there was a focus on utilizing the different products for online/distance learning. One of the biggest challenges with the remote setting is balancing life and meetings. A primary concern from HAPSters was how the online tools ensured accessibility, which underscores a dedication to diversity and inclusion. Peter informed us on Friday that session recordings will get posted to the HAPS website.

Today we will meet again for the Membership Extravaganza and breakout sessions with your regional directors. See you soon!

HAPS 2020 Virtual Conference Days 2-3

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We have now heard from our third and fourth update speakers, Barbara Vanderhyden and Nadia Abu-Zahra.

On Wendesday Dr. Vanderhyden, a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a Senior Scientist in the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, presented “Going Back in Time: Can We Reverse the Effects of Age and Other Risk Factors on Ovarian Cancer Incidence?”. Dr. Vanderhyden showed us how ovarian cancer may arise from the fimbriae of uterine tubes and how risk decreases with parity, hormonal birth control methods, and breastfeeding. She explained this phenomenon is likely due to reduced ovulation. She also discussed how use of Metformin, a drug used to treat type II diabetes, is associated with a lower risk of ovarian cancer due to its anti-fibrotic properties.

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On Thursday Dr. Abu-Zahra, an Associate Professor in the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa, presented “Inclusive Education.  Ways in Which We Learn and the Development of Strategies to Promote Engagement and Inclusion”. Dr. Abu-Zahra discussed how online teaching is changing the way we think about education. She told us education is about more than transferring information. It also encompasses community building. She provided examples of internal motivation and discussed “ungrading” and accountability. The following #HAPS2020Chat focused on methods for building community in classes.

day 3

In the evening, the exam program chairs hosted a town hall event in which they discussed the HAPS exam in a new normal going forward.

Catch up with us this evening at the Welcome Reception hosted by McGraw-Hill! This will be a chance to check in with friends old and new as we toast one another and learn a little more about just how HAPSy we can be in this remote social. Check your email for event links. BYOB!

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HAPS 2020 Virtual Conference Day 1

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Day one of the 2020 Virtual Conference is complete! Today we heard from two of our update speakers: Anne Burrows and Peter Ward.

Dr. Burrows, a biological anthropologist at Duquesne University, presented a fascinating seminar called “Making Our Face – The Evolutionary Story of the Human Face”. She discussed facial recognition in the brain, thereby explaining how we see faces in potato chips. During the social media discussions in the evening, HAPSters decided this talk was very relevant to online teaching and video conferencing lectures.

day 1

Dr. Ward, from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, presented a captivating talk called “Pushing the Boundaries of Clinical Anatomy”. Dr. Ward challenged the concept of “normal anatomy” and suggested teaching variation as the norm. Later HAPSters questioned whether click-bait headlines about “new” organs could be used to teach science literacy.

fabella Fabella – A sesamoid bone Dr. Ward informed us forms in the tendon of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius that is sometimes mistaken for a fracture.

Anthony Edwards has begun the online discussion this morning by asking, “What’s your favorite part about teaching A&P?” #HAPS2020  Follow the hashtag to respond on LinkedIn.

HAPS Online Silent Auction – Hosted by the Fundraising Committee

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Although we will not be able to meet in person at the HAPS 2020 Annual Conference, the Fundraising Committee has created a fun way HAPSters can still participate!

The Fundraising Committee is hosting an online silent auction event and we need your help! If you’d like to donate an item, please complete this form. Items can be donated until May 29th at 5:00 PM EDT. Please note any shipping fees incurred will be the responsibility of the donor, so we are encouraging electronic items (such as e-gift certificates, digital media items, etc.) to be donated. Donated items do not have to be HAPS related.

All items will be uploaded to an online platform and an email will be sent out to the HAPS membership with the link to the auction. You will need to create an account if you’d like to bid on an item.

Online bidding will begin on June 1 at 8:00 AM EDT and close on June 8 at 5:00 PM EDT. Winners will be contacted once the auction ends.

We look forward to seeing what great items are donated!

HAPS 2020 Virtual Conference

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The HAPS Annual Conference is one of the best parts of being a HAPS member. Every year we get to meet up, exchange ideas, learn from each other, and have a ton of fun. Even though we will not meet in person this year, HAPS is still hosting its annual conference online for all members! This is the first of a series of blogs that will fill you in on the virtual conference happenings.

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, May 19 to 21 – Update Speakers
Thursday, May 21 4:00 PM EDT – HAPS Exam Program Town Hall
Friday, May 22 8:00 to 8:00 PM EDT – Welcome Reception hosted by McGraw-Hill
Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24 – Exhibitor Demonstrations
Tuesday, May 26 12:00 to 1:00 PM EDT – General Membership Extravaganza
Tuesday, May 26 1:00 – 1:30 PM EDT – Regional Breakout Groups
Wednesday, May 27 4:00 to 5:00 PM EDT – After Party Town Hall

Follow the HAPS Social Channels!

Use the HAPS Hashtag: #HAPS2020

Facebook Group:

  • Respond to a daily question in the Facebook group about teaching and learning using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Ask a question about the daily workshops or any A&P questions using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS membership is valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS conferences are valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • “Extra points” for points or comments using videos and photos!
  • Tag HAPSofficial in your posts

Post a photo or video of yourself watching the sessions or your screen using the hashtag #HAPS2020

Twitter:

  • Live Twitter chats on update speakers at 8:00 PM EDT May 19th-21st
    #HAPS2020Chat
    – Follow the HAPS twitter account
    – Login around 8:00 PM EDT and search #HAPS2020Chat
    – We’ll be posting questions and discussing the recorded update speakers talks each day. Come post your thoughts!
  • Post a photo or video of yourself watching the sessions using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS membership is valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS conference are valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Search for #HAPS2020 and comment on other members’ posts
  • Tag @HumanAandPSoc

Instagram:

  • Post a photo or video of yourself watching the sessions or your screen using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS membership is valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Post a video explaining why you think HAPS conferences are valuable using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Search for #HAPS2020 and comment on other members’ posts
  • Tag @humananatomyphysiologysociety in your posts

LinkedIn Group:

  • Respond to a daily question in the LinkedIn group regarding higher education leadership using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Ask a question about the daily workshops or any A&P questions using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • “Extra points” for points or comments using videos or photos
  • Post a photo or video of yourself watching the sessions or your screen using the hashtag #HAPS2020

Facebook Page:

  • Respond to a daily question on the Facebook page about teaching and learning using the hashtag #HAPS2020
  • Comment on posts on the Facebook page
  • Tag HAPSofficial in your posts
  • Post a photo or video of yourself watching the sessions or your screen using the hashtag #HAPS 2020

Remote Proctoring of the HAPS Exams

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Remote proctoring of the HAPS Exams always brings up a raft of questions about the process, who does the proctoring, how you can trust the proctors, etc.

To address these questions, HAPS and ProctorU are hosting a joint webinar on Thursday, February 27 at 3:30p central time.

Hosts Wendy Riggs, president elect of HAPS, and Gabriell Darby, Director of Implementation Services for ProctorU will:

  • Outline the benefits of using live online proctoring for the HAPS exams
  • Show how easy it is for instructors to set up an exam
  • Demonstrate the student process in the ProctorU system
  • Cover what an integrity incident looks like, and how to deal with it

Register at the link below to learn how this integration can make your testing process more simple, convenient and secure than ever before:

The HAPS Exams have experienced intense focus over the past several years.  The learning outcomes on which the exams are based have expanded from just A&P to include a stand-alone Anatomy set (and stand-alone Physiology are being constructed now). The A&P learning outcomes had a massive once-a-decade revision released in Fall 2019. Parallel work on the exams themselves, including validation efforts, have resulted in an exam program that is light years ahead of where it was even five years ago.

The back end of the exams have also been a focus for the past two years. HAPS transitioned to a new exam provider in 2019 that has substantially increased the security of the exams. The new provider also allows integrations that we were previously not available. One such integration is to allow remote proctoring through ProctorU.

Remote proctoring is a major step forward for the HAPS Exams. Now faculty can have students take the HAPS Exams before even coming to campus, online courses can use the HAPS Exams, programs with limited funding can use the HAPS Exams by having students pay directly to take the exams. A whole new world of possibilities.

 

First Timer Experiences at The HAPS 2019 Conference

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A note from Blog Master, Ann Raddant:
This post wraps up our series of posts looking back at the 2019 Annual Conference. If you missed any of the earlier posts, be sure to go back and give them a read. It’s almost like being back in Portland! Thanks again to all of the authors who contributed a post in this series: Meghan Moran, Bridgit Goldman, Andrew Russo, and the authors for the current post, Kevin Flaherty and Valerie Kramer. This post offers a glimpse into the first-timer experience from two participants. If you’ve never been to a HAPS meeting, I hope this post inspired you to make it happen to 2020!

HAPS member, Kevin Flaherty:
Like many of you, what I did on my summer vacation was to attend the annual HAPS meeting in Portland, OR. This was my first experience of a HAPS meeting, and what follows is my first timer’s experience of the event.

I loved it. My experience at HAPS provided me with several unique experiences that I want to bring into the other societies I belong to. One of the first unique experiences of HAPS was that I already had an idea of how the meeting worked and what the culture was like because of the A&P Professor podcast, which is sponsored by HAPS. The podcast’s host, Kevin Patton, did an episode specifically about the HAPS conference, which I found really helpful as I was preparing to go.

Another unique aspect of the HAPS meeting is the first timer breakfast. First-time attendees not only get a free meal, they also get to meet many senior members of HAPS, including the former presidents of the organization. Each table has a senior HAPS member stationed at it so that in addition to getting to meet other people who are attending the meeting for the first time, you also get to meet folks who have been around the academic block.

The Thursday talks were fascinating. I volunteered to be a Twitter correspondent for HAPS, and I found it to be a neat way to involve myself. The first talk I attended was Meghan Moran’s discussion of the relationship between the microbiome and bone. While I don’t want to recapitulate the talks here (my Twitter feed @kvflaherty has blow-by-blow accounts of all the talks I went to), I will say that this talk included my favorite line of the conference, when Dr. Moran lost her train of thought and said, “I forgot what I was going to say…it was really good though.”

On Saturday, I got my chance to contribute to the meeting. My former student, Ben Karger, and I have been researching the utility of virtual reality in anatomy education, so we hosted a workshop on VR and how it might be used in an anatomy classroom. I came away from the workshop feeling good about the level of interest in my research and excited to provide updates as my research continues.  

These moments were the ones that I really felt made HAPS for me. Every time I entered a room full of people, I instantly met people that I felt very comfortable conversing with.  Everything is easy-breezy at HAPS, even for us introverts. I’m not sure what happens behind the scenes to produce this sort of culture, but the product is a meeting that feels very welcoming.

McGraw Hill A&P Marketing Manager, Valerie Kramer:
While planning for the 2019 HAPS Conference, I knew there would be a lot to learn, presentations to give, and an exciting opportunity to meet new people and customers. What I didn’t know is that I’d leave with a conference experience like none I have experienced before. I didn’t just leave with business cards and a to-do list, I left with new friends and even more respect for those in the HAPS organization and the incredible instructors the organization serves.

 As a marketing manager for McGraw-Hill, I am responsible for hearing the needs of instructors and sharing those with our product team, then working with the product team to create the solutions instructors need for a successful experience in their course. Along with that important duty, which I believe is the most important, I get to spread the word about McGraw-Hill’s solutions in various ways, including email campaigns, on-campus relationships and presentations, and conferences like HAPS. Although marketing and conferences are not new to me, higher education has only been my work home for about two years and I’m absolutely in love. I began working with microbiology and nutrition, and recently moved into the best discipline—A&P! (Shhh… Don’t tell microbiology and nutrition instructors. They are pretty fabulous too.)

All this said, the HAPS Conference is not like any other trade show or conference, it’s unique. Why? Attendees WANT to be there! It’s a special time for instructors to bond and share similar stories and challenges. It’s a place where they can relax, laugh, and have fun in the comfort of those that share the same experiences! It’s a breath of fresh air as instructors finish their spring semesters and get re-energized for the coming year. It’s a place where learning happens and ideas flourish. A meeting of the minds I like to say, but most of all what I experienced was that HAPS is built on friends that motivate and inspire one other for the success of something bigger—their students and the future generations of educators, nurses and citizens.

Can’t wait to see the passionate instructors and meet new faces at the 2020 HAPS in Canada!

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Kevin Flaherty is a visiting assistant professor teaching anatomy and neuroanatomy in the Biology Department at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. He received his PhD in Anthropology from Penn State in 2018. His primary research interests are craniofacial development, particularly developmental disorders such as craniosynostosis, and the use of 3D visualization technology in anatomy education. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing video and board games, playing fantasy football, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

 

VKramer_headshot_smallValerie Kramer is the Anatomy & Physiology Marketing Manager for McGraw-Hill. With a passion for education and the life sciences, she is responsible for assisting in the development of and bringing to market innovative tools to help instructors and students succeed in the Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, and Anatomy and Physiology courses of higher education. At McGraw-Hill, she shares insights on the pulse of Anatomy & Physiology through her ‘Succeed in A&P’ podcast and recently helped bring the new interface of Anatomy & Physiology Revealed (APR) and Connect® Virtual Labs products to market.

Outside the office, she is committed to her local community and family as a volunteer for Dubuque Main Street, a development non-profit. She also enjoys fitness, traveling, and spending time with her husband and goldendoodle.