INDIANAPOLIS – In late July 2020, Barbara Manz Friesth, PhD, RN, was named Interim Director of the Indiana University Interprofessional Practice and Education Center (IU IPE).
UPDATE: 9/4/2020: We have posted an in-depth article about Dr. Friesth and her background HERE
Dr. Friesth brings an extensive leadership background as it pertains to interprofessional practice and education. Through her work at the Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall and the Co-Director of the School of Nursing Encouraging Learning, Innovation & Technology Excellence (ELITE) Center, Dr. Friesth has played a pivotal role in ensuring learners work effectively and efficiently alongside one another to improve a patient’s health. Further, Dr. Friesth has a breadth of knowledge regarding teaching and learning tools to creatively reach and challenge students’ comprehension and skills. In addition to Dr. Friesth’s appointments, she serves as a Clinical Professor and the Assistant Dean for Learning Resources at the IU School of Nursing.
Dr. Friesth received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her PhD from Indiana University, with a concentration in nursing synthesis and a minor in educational inquiry methodology. Her extensive teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as the use of a variety of instructional technologies, will be invaluable as IU IPE continues to advance and extend interprofessional collaborative learning opportunities across the state of Indiana.
IU IPE opened in 2014 with the mission to develop a workforce across all health professions, through high quality relationship-centered interprofessional care teams, to improve population and individual health outcomes. Through its foundational curriculum (TEACH!) and clinical opportunities, health profession learners are equipped with the tools necessary to deliver high-quality, team-based care for the betterment of patients, caregivers, families, and communities. Additionally, with the funding of two IU Challenges, Responding to the Addictions Crisis and Precision Health, IU IPE delivers and creates content, programming, and/or initiatives for faculty, staff, learners, and community members across Indiana to improve population health.
IU IPE collaborates with all IU health profession schools as well as other institutions, health and governmental organizations, and non-profits in Indiana.