Arizona Healthcare in OER Symposium
The Healthcare Symposium will bring together leaders from healthcare to discuss OER opportunities and challenges within the healthcare field. This symposium will explore the work being done in various medical, educational settings, and identify gaps and opportunities for collaboration on creating open pedagogy for use in the healthcare field.
Join our panelists for an exciting 2-hour symposium. In the first hour, the panelist will discuss how their project fills a need for OER in healthcare, their challenges, and future opportunities. Participants will break into small groups in the second hour, help identify OER healthcare gaps, and explore the expansion of OER into other healthcare disciplines. The session will culminate with the best ideas to put into action and a Q&A with the panelist.
- Anthony Palmiotto, Director for Higher Ed., Openstax, Rice University
- Carrie Gits, Director of Digital Learning, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
- Marylou E. Mercado, Ed.D, MSN, RN, CNE, FNP-BC, Dean of Health Sciences Health & Wellness, Science, Math, & ABE, Yavapai College
- Kim Ernstmeyer, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE, APNP-BC, Open RN and Next Gen RN Project Director, Chippewa Valley Technical College
- Cheryl (Cuillier) Casey, Open Education Librarian, University of Arizona
Image credit: "Five sites for open source healthcare" by opensourceway is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Healthcare in OER Symposium Panelists
Anthony Palmiotto
Director for Higher Ed.
Openstax, Rice University
Anthony Palmiotto is the director of higher education for OpenStax at Rice University. He works closely with faculty, students, and educational innovators to help improve learning through the use of open educational resources, educational technologies, and effective teaching practices. He is deeply involved in the editorial and instructional design efforts at OpenStax and focuses on improving course materials through continued engagement with users and partners.
Carrie Gits
Director of Digital Learning
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
Carrie serves as a Director in the Division of Digital Learning at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), where she supports and leads strategic initiatives on OER and digital learning. Before her role at the THECB, Carrie spent over 20 years as an academic librarian and library manager at Illinois, Florida, and Texas institutions. Most recently, as a Head Librarian at Austin Community College. Carrie is the creator and author of the state-wide online training program, Texas Learn OER. She earned an MA in Foreign Language and Literature and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
Kim Ernstmeyer, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE, APNP-BC
Open RN, and Next Gen RN Project Director
Chippewa Valley Technical College
Kim is the Project Director of the Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN) project, funded by a four-year, $2.5 million grant from the Department of Education. She is a certified nurse educator who is passionate about creating quality OER and interactive learning activities to help nursing students develop safe clinical judgment and successfully pass their national licensure examination. The Open RN project has published five nursing OER textbooks and 25 virtual reality simulations with input from over 65 contributors and 300 peer reviewers from across the country. Open RN textbooks have achieved wide usage with over 2.6 million international users and 7 million page views of the online books. Additionally, fifty-seven colleges and universities across the United States and Canada have adopted one or more affordable print versions of the Open RN textbooks, and three textbooks won “Best OER Awards” from OE Global in 2020 and 2021.
Marylou E. Mercado, Ed.D, MSN, RN, CNE, FNP-BC
Dean of Health Sciences Health & Wellness, Science, Math, & ABE
Yavapai College
I have been in Higher Education with Community Colleges since 1994. My career in the Associate Degree Nursing Program began with the Wisconsin Technical College until 2018, when I then moved to Prescott, Arizona, to accept a position with Yavapai College.
I am the Dean of Health Sciences, Science and Math, Adult Basic Education, and Physical Education. My passion is for students to attain their educational goals, earn a living wage and fully embrace their professions for their families and communities in which they live.
Cheryl (Cuillier) Casey
Open Education Librarian
University of Arizona
Cheryl (Cuillier) Casey is the Open Education Librarian at the University of Arizona Libraries, where she has led OER initiatives since 2014. She is involved regionally and nationally in OER efforts, serving as a trainer for the Open Education Network (OEN) and as an instructor in the OEN’s Certificate in OER Librarianship.