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.