The School of Medicine has announced that Mitchell T. Heflin, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics), has been named associate dean for Interprofessional Education and Care and director of the new Center for Interprofessional Education and Care, effective July 1, 2019.
In 2018, the School of Medicine and School of Nursing signed a collaborative agreement to establish the Duke Health Center for Interprofessional Education and Care (IPEC), a priority goal of the education pillar of the 2016 Duke Health Strategic Framework.
The center will advance interprofessional education, research, and collaborative practice across Duke Health.
As associate dean and center director, Heflin will be responsible for implementing the goals of the newly established center. Heflin will lead the center with governance from representatives from all health education schools and programs and the broader Durham community.
The IPEC initiative emerged from the foundational work of the IPEC Education Working Group, a talented team of more than 30 people representing faculty and leadership from Duke’s four health education programs. Together, they produced a proposal that outlined a collaborative vision to transform health professions education at Duke University. This new center will be the catalyst to transform the culture and practice of patient and family-centered, team-based healthcare by co-educating Duke’s health profession students.
Heflin brings a wealth of experience in interprofessional practice, care and education to the position. As a seasoned educator who values relationship-building, creativity, and robust evaluation when developing innovative education programming at Duke, he embodies a spirit of collaboration and the necessary skill set to lead this innovative new initiative.
Heflin earned his MD from the University of Virginia and completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in geriatrics at Duke University. He is a Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke and serves as Medical Director of the Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment (GET) Clinic and co-directs the Perioperative Optimization of Surgical Health (POSH) programs at Duke and Durham VA. He is also Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program and co-director of the Duke Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP).