Promoting Health & Well-Being Within & Across Health Professions Learners

Jennifer “Kim” Penberthy, PhD, ABPP, is the Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she conducts research, teaches, provides clinical care, and promotes clinician and learner wellbeing. Dr. Penberthy is the Associate Director for the UVA Clinician Wellbeing Program as well as a founding member of the Wisdom & Wellbeing Program that addresses both systems and individual occupational challenges in the healthcare setting. She is the Co-Director of the Effective Coping and Communication Skills for Clinicians Program, a national CME approved offering. She is a member of the UVA Contemplative Sciences Center, the UVA Academy of Distinguished Educators, the UVA Leadership in Academic Matters Program, and is a Fellow of Humanism in Medicine at the University of Virginia. Dr. Penberthy is also a member of the UVA Diversity Consortium and past chair of APA Division 12 Diversity Committee. She is a fellow in the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and currently serving on the advisory committee for the American Psychological Association Continuing Education Committee after being chair. She is an APA Council Representative for the Society of Clinical Psychology, past-president of the International Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) Society and a founding member of the CBASP Training Program. Dr. Penberthy has published extensively on clinician wellbeing and lectures nationally and internationally on psychotherapy with a focus on mindfulness-based interventions, and clinician and learner health and wellbeing.

Alice M. Teall is Director of Graduate Wellness Academic Programming, Director of Innovative Telehealth Services, and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at Ohio State University. She was a founding member of the College of Nursing’s team delivering distance education and served as Director of the online Family Nurse Practitioner program. She has published and presented nationally about innovation in online education, incorporation of health and wellness coaching techniques in clinical practice, and best practices for teaching telehealth competencies. In recognition of her contributions to advanced practice nursing education, Dr. Teall was honored with the Ohio State University Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and inducted into the Academy of Teaching.

Alice Teall has received leadership, alumni, and practice awards, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. As a certified Nurse Practitioner and an Integrative Nurse Coach, her areas of clinical practice expertise include adolescent health, primary care of at-risk youth and families, college health, and statewide quality improvement initiatives in primary care. In response to the pandemic and in collaboration with the Ohio State University Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Teall implemented the Wellness Partner Program, which established an emotional support line for nurses working in COVID-19 hotspots, provides wellness assessments for university students across all campuses, and pairs graduate students with clinicians to provide wellness support and partnership.

Catherine L. Grus, PhD is the chief education officer at the American Psychological Association and has been on the staff of the APA since 2005. She was named deputy executive director, Education in 2010. In her role as chief education officer, she leads the association’s efforts to promote psychology in education and education in psychology. Grus has played a lead role in the association’s efforts related to advancing interprofessional education for psychology students, primary care psychology practice, development of models and tools for competency assessment, and supervision. She serves as APA’s representative to the National Academy of Medicine’s Global Forum on Innovations in Health Professions Education, the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative and the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions.

Before coming to APA, Grus was an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine where she served as the director of an APA accredited internship program. Grus is the recipient of many awards including the Paul Nelson Award, the Friend of the Association of Directors of Psychology Training Clinics and the Nova University Distinguished Alumni Achievement award. In 2016 she was inducted into the National Academies of Practice as a distinguished scholar and Fellow. Grus is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on topics including competency-based education, supervision and professionalism.

Grus completed her PhD in clinical psychology at Nova University, with an internship in pediatric psychology at the University of Miami School of Medicine Mailman Center for Child Development and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine.