Chris Burns, PhD, NRAEMT
Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Disciplines: Health professions education, interprofessional education, and leadership

Email: cmburns2006@gmail.com

When I first started using TBL, the TBLC was an invaluable resource of information, training, and most importantly, knowledgeable and helpful colleagues. It has been my great pleasure to be involved with this organization since 2010 and to have had many opportunities to contribute to our success. In 2013, I graduated from the Consultant-Trainer program and since then have successfully mentored several others to achieve their certificates. The skills I learned have been a great help to me guiding others in TBL at my own institutions and extramurally.

My mission is to prepare students for professional careers by promoting life-long learning, and ensuring that clinical skills are based on underlying basic science knowledge. I advocate TBL as an effective and fun way to accomplish this goal because it takes advantage of readily accessible knowledge resources, freeing faculty experts to focus on fostering in-depth understanding that goes far beyond what students can simply look up on the internet. I help students and faculty develop the skills and confidence necessary to be successful using TBL. I’ve enjoyed giving workshops and one-on-one coaching to help others become TBL trailblazers in diverse disciplines including medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacy, business, arts and sciences, and faculty development and continuing education. In addition to TBL and biomedical science research, I have published and led workshops on leadership, student development, curriculum reform, peer evaluation, instructional technology, and interprofessional education.