Kevin MacCarthy joined the Department of Psychiatry on July 15, 2021 as the UME Education Program Coordinator.
What made you want to join the Department of Psychiatry?
I’ve been an advocate and all-around fan of mental health education and awareness for as long as I can remember, so I tried to keep up to date on the happenings of the department since I arrived in Omaha around the end of 2018. Between the department’s exponential growth, strong educational leadership, and educational initiatives, I was ecstatic to submit my application when the UME Coordinator job was posted.
What roles do you have as UME Education Program Coordinator?
I have the unique privilege of managing both longitudinal and day-to-day operations and logistics for the psychiatry portions of the College of Medicine’s doctorate program. Each year runs concurrently through a four-year cycle, and I work as the liaison between psych education leadership, COM leadership, psych faculty, and students, to ensure all program, institutional, and national accreditation standards are met across each cycle. For something a little less dry – a few thousand check boxes need to be reviewed, setup, completed, reviewed again, and reported, before a student can obtain that M.D. credential at the end of their name, and I’m there to help them with some of those boxes along the way.
What goals have you set for your new position?
My current “big” goal would have to be improving the management of all department learners. I’m currently working on a real-time assignment and tracking system that will allow education leadership, schedulers, residents, faculty, and other stakeholders, to have a go-to place for finding where and when learners are scheduled to be in clinic/on-service. The overarching goal being two-fold. The first goal will be to provide all learners interested in psychiatry, regardless of training program or origin, access to excellent learning opportunities that adhere to both their personal needs and program’s needs. The second goal is to make faculty assignments available in a timely, manageable, and appropriate manner, allowing for more 1-on-1 time with learners and hopefully prevent some of the burnout that can come with the constant, sometimes overwhelming, influx of learners oftentimes on short notice. I’m also looking to become the point person for demystifying all things related to the UME, and how it integrates with the department. As the psychiatry administrative liaison to the COM’s various divisions, and the LCME, if I don’t have the answer I can help you find the person who does.
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I’ve had a life-long love of martial arts and have been fortunate enough to study and practice Kung Fu since 2005, with the addition of instructing since 2011. I’m a big video game nerd, and I will play just about anything, but am particularly fond of RPG and horror games. I’m also a big fan of my wife and two dogs so getting to hang out with them is pretty rad, too.