Full Name
Alice Fornari
Position
Professor Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention
Institution
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell University
Bio
Dr. Fornari is a Professor in Science Education, Occupational Health and Family Medicine. She is an Associate Dean of Educational Skills Development, Zucker SOM (ZSOM) at Hofstra Northwell and is the Vice President of Faculty Development at Northwell Health organization for the 23 hospitals. Her faculty development role at both institutions is designed to align the UME, GME and CPD continuum. Serving in these roles for the past 15 years allows her to bring UME curricular innovations originating at the ZSOM to Northwell GME programs and recruit educators from GME to participate in faculty development and teaching at the Zucker School of Medicine.
Recognizing a need for additional faculty development to align UME and GME education, in 2016 she created and admitted the inaugural cohort to a Masters of Health Professions Education degree program. As Program Director, she supported high level faculty development for faculty who desire an advanced degree in education. She has developed and implemented continuing professional development opportunities for faculty: “Just in Time Teaching (JiTT)”, which is an international downloadable App for iOS and Android and supports technology assisted faculty development that is evidenced based and meets the needs of geographically dispersed faculty and trainees, Advanced Teaching, Learning and Assessment Skills (ATLAS) workshops, an educational research curriculum, “Educational Research Skills Development (ERSD)” and system-wide “Chief Resident” curriculum course, all of which include interactive didactics and experiential components to assure skill-building is occurring in real-time.
Dr. Fornari is co-editor of two manuals published by the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), entitled Active Learning Strategies for Large Group Teaching and Mentoring in Health Professions Education: Evidence -Informed Strategies Across the Continuum. These are web-based manuals available to the medical education community that has been very well received nationally and internationally.
An interest in health humanities and reflective practice as a core competency has supported successful implementation of health humanities curriculum across UME, GME, and CPD at the ZSOM and Northwell Health Organization. She is currently co-leading a AAMC/NEGEA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Health Huminites as Teaching and Learning tool.
Dr. Fornari is actively engaged in obtaining external funding and implementing novel programs to transform medical education across the continuum. In 2014, Dr. Fornari was awarded a 2-year grant, Mentoring and Professionalism in Training (MAP-IT), funded by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation that focuses on developing mentoring skills in interprofessional clinicians to achieve humanistic relationships with trainees, colleagues and ultimately patients across the continuum of medical education. This program continues annually (2024 marks cohort #10) under the Office of Academic Affairs at Northwell Health. This program has expanded to a new interprofessional professional development program, MAP-IT 1.5, Flourishing: Character, Caring and Practical Wisdom under the sponsorship of the Kern National Network (KNN).
Dr. Fornari obtained her EdD, Higher Education, College Teaching and Academic Leadership at Columbia University, Teachers College in 2001. Her research interest was focused on curriculum to support ethical decision making for healthcare professionals. Her interest in ethics education has continued and she obtained a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Bioethics form Hofstra University in 2018 and received certification in 2021 as a Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C). In 2024 she will complete certification as a Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In 2020 she was appointed to be an International Fellow (FAMEE) of the Association of Medical Education of Europe (AMEE).
Recognizing a need for additional faculty development to align UME and GME education, in 2016 she created and admitted the inaugural cohort to a Masters of Health Professions Education degree program. As Program Director, she supported high level faculty development for faculty who desire an advanced degree in education. She has developed and implemented continuing professional development opportunities for faculty: “Just in Time Teaching (JiTT)”, which is an international downloadable App for iOS and Android and supports technology assisted faculty development that is evidenced based and meets the needs of geographically dispersed faculty and trainees, Advanced Teaching, Learning and Assessment Skills (ATLAS) workshops, an educational research curriculum, “Educational Research Skills Development (ERSD)” and system-wide “Chief Resident” curriculum course, all of which include interactive didactics and experiential components to assure skill-building is occurring in real-time.
Dr. Fornari is co-editor of two manuals published by the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), entitled Active Learning Strategies for Large Group Teaching and Mentoring in Health Professions Education: Evidence -Informed Strategies Across the Continuum. These are web-based manuals available to the medical education community that has been very well received nationally and internationally.
An interest in health humanities and reflective practice as a core competency has supported successful implementation of health humanities curriculum across UME, GME, and CPD at the ZSOM and Northwell Health Organization. She is currently co-leading a AAMC/NEGEA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Health Huminites as Teaching and Learning tool.
Dr. Fornari is actively engaged in obtaining external funding and implementing novel programs to transform medical education across the continuum. In 2014, Dr. Fornari was awarded a 2-year grant, Mentoring and Professionalism in Training (MAP-IT), funded by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation that focuses on developing mentoring skills in interprofessional clinicians to achieve humanistic relationships with trainees, colleagues and ultimately patients across the continuum of medical education. This program continues annually (2024 marks cohort #10) under the Office of Academic Affairs at Northwell Health. This program has expanded to a new interprofessional professional development program, MAP-IT 1.5, Flourishing: Character, Caring and Practical Wisdom under the sponsorship of the Kern National Network (KNN).
Dr. Fornari obtained her EdD, Higher Education, College Teaching and Academic Leadership at Columbia University, Teachers College in 2001. Her research interest was focused on curriculum to support ethical decision making for healthcare professionals. Her interest in ethics education has continued and she obtained a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Bioethics form Hofstra University in 2018 and received certification in 2021 as a Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C). In 2024 she will complete certification as a Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In 2020 she was appointed to be an International Fellow (FAMEE) of the Association of Medical Education of Europe (AMEE).
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