Ms. Barker is a Physician Assistant and clinician educator with the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center specializing in musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. She graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program in 2008 and joined the Salt Lake City VA in 2011.
Upon joining the VA, Ms. Barker helped to build the Center of Excellence (COE) in MSK Care and Education and its nationally-recognized portfolio of interprofessional health professions education (HPE) programs focusing on developing MSK skills of HPE students, trainees and practicing providers. In 2014, she was awarded the Don Pedersen Leadership Award from the Utah Academy of Physician Assistants and in 2019, her COE team received the Interprofessional Education Team Award from the University of Utah Academy of Health Sciences Educators. Ms. Barker has been the Director of the COE since 2021.
Ms. Barker has sustained her clinical skills through her Primary Care MSK Clinic and the multispecialty, multidisciplinary COE MSK Clinic where she also works with HPE trainees. Through her clinical service, she received the 2016 National Outstanding Clinical Physician Assistant Award from the VA PA Association.
In addition to her interest in MSK education, she has sought additional training in HPE leadership and research through Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where she is a PhD candidate. She also serves as the Co-Director for the VA-sponsored Advanced Fellowship in Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research (HPEER) which began in July 2022.
Selected Publications
Journal Article
- Mulcaire-Jones E, Barker AM, Beck JP, Lawrence P, Cannon GW, Battistone MJ (2022). Impact of a Musculoskeletal "Mini-Residency" Professional Development Program on Knee Magnetic Resonance Imaging Orders by Primary Care Providers. J Clin Rheumatol, 28(5), 245-249. (Read full article)
- Pearson M, Barker AM, Battistone MJ, Bent S, Odden K, OBrien B (2020). Implementing an established musculoskeletal educational curriculum in a new context: a study of effectiveness and feasibility. Med Educ Online, 25(1), 1760466. (Read full article)
- Barker AM, LaRochelle JS, Artino AR Jr, Wiltz SA, Kim LM, Battistone MJ (2020). SimLEARN Musculoskeletal Training for VHA Primary Care Providers and Health Professions Educators. Fed Pract, 37(1), 42-47. (Read full article)
- Battistone MJ, Barker AM, Beck JP, Tashjian RZ, Cannon GW (2017). Validity evidence for two objective structured clinical examination stations to evaluate core skills of the shoulder and knee assessment. BMC Med Educ, 17(1), 13. (Read full article)
- Battistone MJ, Barker AM, Grotzke MP, Beck JP, Lawrence P, Cannon GW (2016). "Mini-Residency" in Musculoskeletal Care: a National Continuing Professional Development Program for Primary Care Providers. J Gen Intern Med, 31(11), 1301-1307. (Read full article)
- Battistone MJ, Barker AM, Grotzke MP, Beck JP, Berdan JT, Butler JM, Milne CK, Huhtala T, Cannon GW (2016). Effectiveness of an Interprofessional and Multidisciplinary Musculoskeletal Training Program. J Grad Med Educ, 8(3), 398-404. (Read full article)
- Battistone MJ, Barker AM, Lawrence P, Grotzke MP, Cannon GW (2015). Mini-Residency in Musculoskeletal Care: An Interprofessional, Mixed-Methods Educational Initiative for Primary Care Providers. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken), 68(2), 275-9. (Read full article)
- Day RW, Mack GK, Barker AM, Rees TQ, Jorgensen LO, Botto LD (2014). Prevalence of variants in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and the severity of pulmonary vascular disease. Pediatr Cardiol, 36(3), 524-30. (Read full article)
- Nelson RE, Battistone MJ, Ashworth WD, Barker AM, Grotzke M, Huhtala TA, Lafleur J, Tashjian RZ, Cannon GW (2012). Cost effectiveness of training rural providers to perform joint injections. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken), 66(4), 559-66. (Read full article)
Review
- Battistone MJ, Barker AM, Durning SJ (2019). Interprofessional Musculoskeletal Education: A Review of National Initiatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs. [Review]. Rheum Dis Clin North Am, 46(1), 135-153. (Read full article)