Alan Erickson, MD, assistant dean for student affairs in the UNMC College of Medicine, has also been named associate dean of continuing medical education for the college.
“Dr. Erickson’s leadership comes at an important time for continuing education,” said Kerri Gilson, executive director of UNMC’s Center for Continuing Education. “His perspective will help us continue to strengthen our role as an institutional resource, ensuring our programs remain aligned, responsive, and positioned to grow our impact for the healthcare professionals and organizations we serve, both within UNMC and beyond.”
Dr. Erickson, who also is an associate professor of rheumatology, said he is excited about the new role.
“What we’re really doing is supporting our patients by providing meaningful and state-of-the-art continuing medical education,” he said. “Providers have more opportunities to find places for continuing medical education, but at the UNMC Center of Continuing Education, we do things in a more collaborative fashion.”
He called the center led by Gilson, which oversees continuing education for all health professions at UNMC, a robust operation.
“Because of how our accreditation works, we’re able to provide a wide breadth of opportunities, the whole gamut of people that need continuing education. One of my goals in this new role will be to help the office make connections within the college of medicine, so that we are providing the best tools and resources available to all our healthcare providers within the college, which is a big lift in and of itself.”
Dr. Erickson also expects to help expand continuing medical education as the college begins operations in Kearney.
“That’s going to bring on new sets of complexities,” he said. “But as we do outreach work for the citizens of central and western Nebraska, there are opportunities to provide continuing medical education, not only on our own campuses, but also in other areas, as well.”
Gilson said: “Dr. Erickson is a respected educator and leader who understands both the academic environment and the importance of lifelong learning in healthcare. His ability to build relationships and bring people together will be an asset as we continue to strengthen partnerships and expand our reach through high-quality, interprofessional education for diverse clinical audiences.”