Skip to main content

Melinda Frances Blazar

Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health
Family Medicine and Community Health, Physician Assistant Program
800 S. Duke Street, Durham, NC 27710
800 S Duke Street, Box 104780 Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Director of Assessment and Evaluation, Duke Physician Assistant Program

  • Support program evaluation and accreditation, support program-wide assessment efforts
  • Strong interests in curriculum development and alignment, holistic assessment, competency-based education, maternal-child health education, and program evaluation and accreditation.
  • Participate in general faculty roles including student advising, admissions, small group teaching and lecturing.

Physician Assistant, Duke Family Medicine Center
  • Provide maternal-child health services, including low-risk obstetric care in a primary care setting
  • Support families and newborns in with care and support in the immediate postpartum/neonatal period.
  • Certified Centering Facilitator
  • Support family medicine residency education in obstetrics and newborn education.
  • Clinical preceptor for Duke PA and MD students
  • Advocate for reproductive health issues

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health · 2021 - Present Family Medicine and Community Health, Physician Assistant Program, Family Medicine and Community Health

Recent Publications


Design and Evaluation of an Interprofessional Preceptor Development Mini-Fellowship Program.

Journal Article J Contin Educ Health Prof · October 1, 2024 INTRODUCTION: Health professions preceptors require skills and knowledge to effectively meet the educational needs of interprofessional students in clinical environments. We implemented a mini-fellowship program to enhance the knowledge, skills, and self-e ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Perfectionism in Physician Assistant Students: Implications for Wellness Curricula

Journal Article Medical Science Educator · January 1, 2024 Objectives: There is growing consensus that wellness strategies should be incorporated into health professions education; however, there is more to be learned about developing targeted, effective curricular interventions. Study objectives were to identify ... Full text Cite

Creation of an asynchronous faculty development curriculum on well-written narrative assessments that avoid bias.

Journal Article BMC Med Educ · April 14, 2023 BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic in parallel with concerns about bias in grading resulted in many medical schools adopting pass/fail clinical grading and relying solely on narrative assessments. However, narratives often contain bias and lack specificity. ... Full text Link to item Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Physician Assistant Leaders in Underserved Communities (PA-LUC)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo Investigator · Awarded by Health Resources and Service Administration · 2020 - 2025

Transforming Healthcare through Enhanced Clinical Training Teams

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMember, Planning Committee · Awarded by Health Resources and Service Administration · 2016 - 2022

A Woman's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) program at Duke University School of Nursing

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEFaculty Member · Awarded by Health Resources and Service Administration · 2014 - 2018

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


A.T. Still University, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine · 2022 Ed.D.
Duke University · 2007 P.A.- C.
Colgate University · 2004 B.A.