Why I Teach: Conversations with ETSU Faculty

Dr. Tabitha Fair has a long history with ETSU’s Dental Hygiene Program, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year. 
 
She began as a student and this year she has been teaching for 20 years in the program. 
 
In this episode, Dr. Fair describes the community-engaged, hands-on learning experiences students participate in as they offer affordable dental hygiene care to the community. 

Dr. Brian Cross discusses the past decade of interprofessional education (IPE) at East Tennessee State University and plans to continue evolving the curriculum to train students for team-based care to improve patient outcomes. Cross is Assistant Vice Provost and Director of ETSU's Center for Interprofessional Collaboration.

In this episode, Dr. Josh Reid, Associate Professor of English, talks about how he engages his students with classical and early modern literature. He also shares his favorite books of the year.

This episode features Dr. Sharon Bigger, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing. Dr. Bigger is a career hospice nurse and former medical interpreter who uses the lessons she has learned with her patients and her research to inspire our undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom and in their research endeavors. 

In this episode, Dr. Blair Reece, Assistant Professor in the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine, talks about how medical education has changed since she was a student at Quillen and her favorite subjects to teach her medical students.

Dr. Patrick Brown, Associate Professor in the ETSU College of Public Health’s Department of Health Sciences, is a past recipient of ETSU’s Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching and has received national recognition for his work with the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method of instruction. 
In this episode, he discusses online learning, ETSU's Center for Teaching Excellence, high-impact instructional practices, and more.

Not only has Dr. Jessica Burchette taught at Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy since 2012, she also has the distinction of being a proud member of the college’s inaugural graduating class in 2010. In this episode of “Why I Teach,” she shares how community-engaged learning and interprofessional education are preparing ETSU’s student pharmacists to address the needs of their future patients.

Karen Brewster, professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, has shared her love of theater with ETSU students for almost 25 years.

ETSU alumnus Dr. Daryl A. Carter returned to his alma mater to teach in 2008. Over the past 15 years, he has instilled in his students an appreciation for history and the humanities and has led ETSU's Black American Studies Program for the past three years.

Dr. Mary Mullins, chair of the Department of Social Work at East Tennessee State University, knows the value of ETSU’s commitment to interprofessional education. Before she joined the faculty at ETSU, she practiced social work in medical environments, where she saw the benefits of social workers practicing alongside other health professionals to improve outcomes for patients. In her classroom, Dr. Mullins shares her experiences from clinical practice, as well as her personal stories of advocacy to inspire the next generation of social workers.