Holly West, DHEd, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA Associate Professor
Physician Assistant Studies
Senior Medical Educator
John Sealy School of Medicine Office of Educational Development
Dr. West is a Senior Medical Educator in the Office of Educational Development (OED) at UTMB. As a trained Physician Assistant (PA), she holds an Adjunct Associate Professor role in the PA Studies Department. She graduated from Texas A&M University,
received a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at UTMB, and a doctoral degree in Health Education at A.T. Still University. Dr. West served as faculty in the PA Department, as the Director of Academic Curricula and directed several courses.
She then joined the UTMB OB/GYN Department as a Women’s Health Specialist and provided leadership oversight for several large-scale clinical research trials involving pregnant women. During this time, her academic responsibilities continued
in resident, medical student, and PA student teaching. She transitioned to the OED in 2019 and specializes in learner assessment, curriculum development, and faculty development. Her teaching has been recognized with PA Department Teacher of the Year Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, the School of Health Professions Educational Excellence award in 2009, and the Class
of 1947 School of Medicine Memorial Professorship for Excellence in Education in 2019 and the Hiram and Gloria Arnold Endowed Professorship for Teaching Excellence in 2020. She was inducted into the University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education in 2021 and currently serves on the Executive Committee.
Dr. West was inducted into the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers (AMT) in 2015 becoming a UT Distinguished Teaching Professor. She has served in several leadership roles within the AMT: Mentoring and Consultation Team Lead (2017-2019), Membership and Standards Team Lead (2020-2023), and currently, the Director of AMT (Since September 2023). As Director, she is the holder of the. A.H. Potthast Professorship for Teaching Excellence.
Learner Types: Faculty/Educator Development, JSSOM - Medical Students - Pre-Clerkship, JSSOM - Physician Assistant Sciences.
Assessment of Learners: Clinical Skills Assessment, Examination Blueprints, National Board Exam Question Writing, Observed Structured Clinical Evaluations (OSCE), Test-Writing, Feedback to Learners.
Advancement/Promotion: CV Development, Educator Portfolio, Peer Observation of Teaching.
Curriculum: Curriculum Design, Curriculum Evaluation, Objectives.
Instructional Methods: Problem-based Learning (PBL), Slide Development - best practices, Team-Based Learning (TBL), Workshop Development, Interactive Teaching - Small Group, Interactive Teaching - Large Group, Flipped Classroom.
Scholarship - Ed Research or Curriculum Innovation: Presentation Skills, Survey Design.
Special Content: Faculty Development - Teaching Skills.