Amber Fitzsimmons Appointed Chair of UCSF's Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science

Academy Member Amber Fitzsimmons, PT, MS, DPTSc, has been appointed the new chair of the UCSF Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, effective July 1, 2018.

Since joining UCSF in 2013, Dr. Fitzsimmons has taken on significant curriculum development and assessment responsibilities within the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and the School of Medicine, serving as the physical therapy faculty lead in UCSF's Interprofessional Education (IPE) program. She was a founding board member for the American Physical Therapy Association's National Interprofessional Education Consortium and has co-authored several manuscripts on the creation and assessment of interprofessional education initiatives for the UCSF-wide interprofessional education curriculum.

Dr. Fitzsimmons has presented nationally and internationally around IPE curriculum innovations and was recently elected to National Academies of Practice (2018) for her contributions to interprofessional education. She is actively engaged in the Center for Faculty Educators and the Academy of Medical Educators and provides faculty development for several Teach for UCSF Certificate Programs. Dr. Fitzsimmons is a member of the UCSF educational space working group, is the department's faculty liaison for UCSF diversity initiatives, and serves on the American Physical Therapy Association's Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Strategic Working Group.

Deeply committed to UCSF's mission of diversity and inclusivity, Dr. Fitzsimmons created a two-year longitudinal course titled: C.A.R.E.: Compassion. Accountability. Responsibility. Excellence, which covers issues of professionalism, ethics, and humanities in healthcare and provides actionable ways to advocate for community members and populations.