On Aug. 4, UNMC leaders hosted alumni and preceptors for a reception organized by UNMC Alumni Relations at the Health Science Education Complex on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus. About 75 people attended the event.
UNMC’s Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, College of Medicine Dean Bradley Britigan, MD, College of Nursing Dean Julie Sebastian, PhD, College of Allied Health Professions Dean Kyle Meyer, PhD, and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dele Davies, MD, were joined by UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen at the event.
The leaders met with alumni and preceptors to share updates from UNMC, including enrollment numbers, economic impact numbers and updates on UNMC’s Davis Global Center. The bulk of the discussion concerned the Healthier Rural Nebraska Initiative, which aims to provide new and expanded UNMC health science programs at UNK.
"It was wonderful to be able to return to Kearney after a pandemic-induced three-year absence to visit with alumni, preceptors and other friends of the college," Dr. Britigan said. "I was gratified and encouraged by the enthusiasm and support for the extension of the medical school to central Nebraska with whom I spoke. They will be excellent partners in this important endeavor."
The goal of the initiative, Dr. Gold told the gathered alumni and preceptors, was to build the health care workforce for the rural communities in the state. "And we can do that working together," he said.
Dr. Gold thanked the preceptors for their work with students and talked about the need to build the number of preceptors in Kearney and other parts of the state.
"Our alumni and preceptors will be vital to the success of the proposed expansion," Dr. Meyer said. "The strong turnout was a testament of our partnership with UNK and the value of the project to advance rural health care."
Dr. Sebastian thanked the alumni and preceptors for joining the UNMC leaders for the discussion.
"Educating future health professionals depends on deep and meaningful partnerships between clinical providers, faculty and learners," Dr. Sebastian said. "We are grateful to the alumni and preceptors who talked with us about ways to move this vital work forward."
Also in attendance were University of Nebraska Regents Paul Kenney and Bob Phares and UNMC Student Regent Nicole Kent. Regent Kent spoke about the impact of clinical rotations for students and how valuable the time spent with preceptors is to education.
"It’s always exciting when our leaders have a chance to meet with our alumni," said Catherine Mello, director of alumni relations. "There are exciting things going on at UNMC right now, especially concerning our partnership with UNK, and our alumni and preceptors were excited to hear about our goals for the future. We look forward to the opportunity for future discussion."