The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Allied Health Professions has named Ryan Splittgerber, Ph.D., assistant dean at the Health Science Education Complex (HSEC) on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus. An assistant professor of physical therapy education, he leads the CAHP’s efforts in Kearney.
"Dr. Splittgerber is the perfect recipient," for the position, said Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., dean of the College of Allied Health Professions. "He is an established scholar, an innovative educator, a collaborative leader, and he has a tremendous passion for the vision of the HSEC."
That vision is to provide opportunity to rural Nebraska students and address critical health care workforce shortages in underserved parts of the state. UNMC, at the HSEC, will do so through education, outreach and engagement with central Nebraska communities, students and health care providers.
"Students interested in rural practice can now complete their health professions education in Kearney, without the need to go to Omaha," Dr. Splittgerber said. "Our experience with RHOP (Rural Health Opportunities Program) indicates graduates will be more likely to stay and practice in rural communities if they have been trained closer to these communities."
Dr. Splittgerber is also the CQuence Distinguished Professorship for Innovation in Health Care, a named professorship endowed to advance the development, implementation and assessment of interprofessional curricula with a focus on promoting new models of primary and transitional care.
That goes hand-in-hand with what he, the CAHP, and the UNMC College of Nursing are working on in Kearney. Interprofessional training will happen there by design – but also thanks to proximity. Seven expanded allied health programs, and the College of Nursing-Kearney Division, all are housed within the HSEC.
"All of these programs are under one roof, which doesn't happen very often," Dr. Splittgerber said.
Further, the facility's state-of-the-art technology applies itself to simulation, experiential and distance learning, adapting to new models of education and care.
Dr. Splittgerber, an anatomist, helped design and currently directs the HSEC's state-of-the-art gross anatomy lab.
"It was a big change," he said of moving from Omaha, "but Kearney is fantastic. It's one of my favorite places that I ever lived." He's even traded in his cell phone number for one that starts with 308.
UNMC’s allied health programs at the HSEC in Kearney include:
- Cardiovascular Interventional Technology
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Physical Therapy
- Physician Assistant
- Radiography
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