Office of Academic Affiliations
Chief of Health Professions Education Biography
Kathleen Klink, MD, FAAFP
Chief of Health Professions Education
Office of Academic Affiliations
Veterans Health Administration
Kathleen Klink, M.D., FAAFP is the Chief of Health Professions Education for the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA), Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. In her role she oversees the largest health professions educational portfolio in the nation that includes over 120,000 students and trainees annually in more than forty different health professions. Over 40,000 physician and dental residents train and learn in the VA health system each year.
Dr. Klink contributes to policy formulation, provides subject matter expertise, leadership and guidance in educational initiatives and activities for the VA’s clinical educational programs that have national implications and impact. A key initiative is implementation of the Veterans Access Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 that authorizes and funds 1,500 new graduate medical education positions targeting primary care and mental health specialties in rural and high Veteran need communities. VA health professions education programs, overseen by OAA, lead the nation in creating high quality clinical learning environments through innovative models including interprofessional education and practice, integrated primary care and mental health, advanced nursing education programs such as nurse practitioner residencies, and programs that advance clinical health leadership in needed fields, including quality and patient safety among others. Achieving a diverse and inclusive health care workforce is a priority.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
| 2016 - Present | Chief, Health Professions Education, Office of Academic Affiliations, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, D.C. |
| 2015 - 2016 | Director, Medical and Dental Education, Office of Academic Affiliations, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, D.C. |
| 2014 - 2015 | Medical Director, Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, Washington D.C. |
| 2010 - Present | Special Lecturer, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY, NY |
| 2010 - 2014 | Director, Division of Medicine and Dentistry, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Professions |
| 2003 - 2010 | Director, Center for Family and Community Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 2003 - 2010 | Chief of Service for Family Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital |
| 2000 - 2003 | Interim Director, Center for Family Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 2000 - 2003 | Chief of Service for Family Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital |
| 1996 - 2000 | Associate Director, Family Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 1997 - 2003 | Chief of Service, Family Medicine, Allen Hospital (Presbyterian Hospital), New York, NY |
| 1996 - 2010 | Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Center for Family Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 1993 - 1996 | Assistant Professor, State University of New York Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn |
| 1988 - 1992 | Assistant Attending Physician, Health and Hospitals Corporations, New York City, Coney Island Hospital/Ida B. Israel Community Health Center (CHC), Medical Director 1990 - 1992 |
EDUCATION:
Fellow, American Academy Family Physicians
Fellowship Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy, Office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Post graduate training, Family Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Bachelor of Arts University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
Board Certified, Family Medicine
MAJOR PUBLICATIONS:
Publications reflect interests in medical and dental education policies and funding that emphasize access to primary care in underserved communities, trends in federal health workforce and new models of education and care that improve health care quality and outcomes.
