UW Faculty Member Receives Fellowship to Strengthen Leadership Skills

A University of Wyoming faculty member has received a fellowship to build leadership skills to benefit herself and family medicine educators.

Pamela Oiler, a licensed clinical social worker and an associate lecturer at the UW Family Medicine Residency Program in Cheyenne, was recently selected for a Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Emerging Leaders Fellowship.

The STFM Emerging Leaders Fellowship is a yearlong educational experience that offers training, tools and support for new faculty and those who are transitioning to leadership roles. The fellowship provides essential leadership training to family medicine educators. The fellowship class size averages 15 educators per year nationwide from residency training programs with different professions including family medicine physicians, pharmacists, clinical social workers, and public health and nursing professionals.

Oiler joined the UW Family Medicine Residency Program in 2009. Her interests in interprofessional education, teaching and providing an integrative team approach to patient care prompted her to apply to the fellowship program.

“I am currently a supervisor of two employees at the residency program, and I teach social work, pharmacy, nursing and medical students every year as part of their internships,” Oiler says. “The faculty physicians rely on me for clinic operation leadership. Participating in formal leadership training will help me prioritize leadership activities in a more efficient manner.”

Oiler hopes to build confidence as a leader, a teacher and an educator through her experience as an Emerging Leaders Fellow.

“I hope to strengthen my public speaking skills so I can effectively facilitate group and team meetings,” Oiler says. “My goal is to increase teaching within the College of Health Sciences and the Division of Social Work.”