Professional News

UK College of Medicine Appoints Associate Dean

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 26, 2011) — Dr. James Norton has been appointed Associate Dean for Educational Engagement at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Norton will be responsible for the management of the College of Medicine’s educational activities beyond the Lexington campus, spanning the continuum of education from health career pipeline efforts to continuing medical education. In this role, Norton will oversee the Rural Physician Leadership Program’s regional clinical education sites in Morehead and Murray, providing general supervision, strategic planning guidance and public advocacy.

 

"Over the years, Jim has served in numerous leadership roles within the College of Medicine, successfully guiding educational and outreach efforts focused on the health and well-being of Kentuckians," said Dr. Emery A. Wilson, interim dean and vice president for clinical academic affairs. “His institutional knowledge and long-standing dedication to medical education will prove to be valuable assets as he oversees the Rural Physician Leadership Program, which is one of our many initiatives focused on addressing Kentucky’s physician shortage.”

 

Norton previously served as Associate Dean for AHEC and Community Outreach.

 

"UK’s engagement with rural communities in the process of medical education creates a very unique opportunity for our students," Norton said. "I am very happy to be a part of this process. It is designed such that a selected group of our students will have a substantial part of training in rural communities.  We do this be there is such a need for physicians in rural communities and because there is strong evidence that training people from rural communities in rural communities greatly increases the likelihood that they will practice in rural communities.  At UK, we are excited about the potential these students have to make positive changes in the lives of Kentuckians.

 

"The idea of the College's regional clinical sites has been well received at the community level.  I look forward very much to working in partnership with the provider community in the Purchase area and with Murray State University in developing the campus in Murray and to continuing the already successful program in Morehead," Norton said.

 

He also will serve as director of UK HealthCare CECentral – the administrative unit responsible for managing continuing education for physicians and pharmacists within and outside of UK.

 

“I believe, with our state-of-the-art online provision of continuing education through CECentral.com and our long tradition of successful live programs, UK is positioned to be a national, even international leader in the professional development of health care providers,” Norton said.