Overview
Betsy Melcher is an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University. She serves the PA program as an academic coordinator and supports the development, administration, and assessment of the preclinical-year curriculum. She also teaches across a spectrum of topics, including prevention, orthopedics, anatomy, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. She has led multiple national and international presentations on interprofessional education (IPE). Prior to joining the faculty at Duke in 2010, Betsy practiced clinically in family medicine and continues to have clinical interests in primary care, sports medicine, and orthopedics. She has also provided clinical service at Duke with the PASS Clinic (2012-2018) and most recently as a PA with the Duke Center for Smoking Cessation (2018-).
Betsy completed her master’s degree in sports health care at the Arizona School of Health Sciences in 2000 and practiced as an athletic trainer at North Carolina State University prior to becoming a PA. She currently serves as the founding facilitator of the PAEA Special Interest Group on IPE, Lead facilitator for PAEA Workshop - Faculty Skills 101, member of NCAPA Student Affairs Committee and Education Development Panel, and several committees in the PA program at Duke.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Professional development for facilitators of interprofessional education: Participation and outcomes of a pilot program
Journal Article Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice · September 1, 2021 Clinician-educators often have limited opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills and values to facilitate Interprofessional Education and Care (IPEC) in clinical settings. An interprofessional team of educators created a 4-part “lunch and learn” progr ... Full text CiteThe Americans With Disabilities Act, Reasonable Accommodations, and Medical Education.
Journal Article J Physician Assist Educ · December 2019 The number of students with a disability matriculating into institutions of medical education, including physician assistant programs, is increasing. Educational institutions must develop procedures with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ... Full text Link to item CitePhysician Assistant Educator Competencies.
Journal Article J Physician Assist Educ · March 2019 The rapid expansion of physician assistant (PA) programs over the past decade has led to a shortage of experienced PA faculty. This has prompted many faculty development initiatives to help provide the skills needed by new faculty making the jump from clin ... Full text Open Access Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Preceptors' Perspective of Physician Assistant Students' Interprofessional Interactions and Competencies
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Physician Assistant Education Association · 2015 - 2015View All Grants