LINC Clinical IPE Initiative

Angela Kennedy, SLPD, CCC-SLP, serves as the faculty leader for the LINC Clinical IPE Experiences as part of the LINC Education Council. Prior to this role, she represented the School of Health Professions on the LINC Clinical IPE workgroup. Currently, Dr. Kennedy is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Clinical Education in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program in which coordinates and leads the department’s IPE activities across the campus and within the community.  In addition, she serves as the chair of the Interprofessional Practice and Education committee for the School of Health Professions. Dr. Kennedy has received internal and external funding to support the development and execution of IPE activities involving speech-language pathology resulting in 4 publications and 14 posters/oral presentations. Currently, she coordinates and directs four community-based clinical education programs for the SLP program, teaches coursework on speech sound disorders, clinical methods, and professional issues and ethics, and directs the clinical education program within the department. ×

Chirag A. Buch MD, is a cardiovascular disease fellow at UT Health San Antonio, where he is actively engaged in clinical care, cardiovascular research, and resident education. A native of San Antonio, Dr. Buch is dedicated to serving his community through excellence in patient care and innovation in cardiovascular medicine to improve outcomes across South Texas and beyond. His interests include interventional and critical care cardiology and leveraging multimodality cardiac imaging to better identify and manage patients at risk for coronary artery disease. He completed his internal medicine residency from UT Health San Antonio and was part of the inaugural class of the 7-year BS / MD program at UT San Antonio. ×

Elena Riccio Leach, D.D.S., M.S., graduated in 1998 from the School of Dentistry of the Second University of Napoli, Italy and practiced as a general dentist for nine years before joining the Italian Navy as a Dental Officer. During her seven years of military service she earned her M.S. in Orthodontics at the University of Milano, Italy. In 2014 she moved with her family to San Antonio, Texas and earned her D.D.S. and Texas dental license through the International Dentist Education Program (IDEP) at the School of Dentistry at the UT Health San Antonio in 2016. She is Assistant Professor/Clinical at the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry. She is assistant leader in the general group practices, supervising and instructing dental students during their daily comprehensive clinical activity. In addition, she is co-director and developer of the Introduction to Patient Care course which is part of the innovative curriculum for earlier clinical education of pre-clinical dental students, her focus being diagnosis and treatment planning and patient record management. She is also co-director of the umbrella clinical patient management course in the junior year. Her service commitments, among others, include being part of the LINC Clinical IPE Initiative group with the intent of researching and informing best practices in clinical interprofessional education at the university level. Dr. Riccio Leach also practices as a provider at the UT Dentistry Faculty Practice Clinic. ×

Dr. Wanda Sparks, PhD, RN-BS, BSN, CLNS, is a distinguished professional Nurse with a profound passion for teaching, leadership, and compassionate patient care. Role modeling servant leadership inside and outside the classroom. Motivate and inspire the next generation of nurses and healthcare professionals to the advancement of education and safe diligent patient care. Embraces change and thrives in a challenging work environment fostering learning, teamwork, and a sense of community.  Committed to excellence in academia, clinical practice, and all aspects of the professional organization of nursing. ×