As UNLV prioritizes the need for its Academic Health Center, Lori Porter is primed to play a crucial role in its success.

As the director of Interprofessional Education and Practice in the School of Integrated Health Sciences, Porter is tasked with building and bolstering opportunities for learning among UNLV’s five Division of Health Sciences schools: the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, and the schools of Integrated Health Sciences, Dental Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, and also UNLV PRACTICE.

Porter is a registered dietitian and holds a doctorate in organizational leadership with a focus in interprofessional education (IPE). With more than three decades of experience in clinical settings, association management, and higher education, she welcomes the challenge of helping bring UNLV’s Academic Health Center, a university priority for nearly a decade, to fruition.

“It’s exciting to see what UNLV plans to accomplish with this Academic Health Center,” she said. “IPE is already making an impact on health students' education. What makes IPE unique at different universities is the ability to tailor educational experiences to the community and the region. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, and community leaders to develop these IPE initiatives.”

Porter grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a beach town off Lake Michigan located between Chicago and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her love for adventure fueled her original hopes of a career in travel and tourism management, but a shift in thinking during her freshman orientation at Michigan State University resulted in a degree in dietetics instead.

The decision changed her life and, decades later, led her to UNLV as an integral piece of the university’s Academic Health Center puzzle.

How did your career plans shift from travel and tourism to healthcare?

I remember being drawn to travel and tourism management because I grew up in a beach town and loved it. Before I got to Michigan State, I looked through the curriculum catalog and learned about the major and what it entailed, which included learning a new language and taking business courses. I had already taken four years of Spanish in high school, so continuing my Spanish studies seemed like a great idea. I felt it aligned with my interests, but when I went to campus for my freshman orientation, I learned about nutrition and dietetics.

I was immediately drawn to nutrition and dietetics because growing up, I was very active. You name it, I was in it. I played baseball, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, track, cross country, marching band (flute), piano, and more. I was always very active. Health and wellness were a big part of that, which is why I was drawn to the nutrition and dietetics major. 

How did your career progress after college?

I think about my career in phases now. Initially, I studied to become a dietitian at Michigan State and completed my dietetic internship at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) at Indiana University Health Medical Center in Indianapolis.

My first job was at Aramark (then called ARA Services) as a menu support dietitian in their correctional food services division. I reviewed and analyzed menus for nutritional adequacy to meet USDA standards and cost efficiency. There are certain standards that need to be met, so I reviewed and analyzed menus to make sure they were nutritionally adequate and cost-effective for the accounts served.

After that, I began working for a health maintenance organization (HMO) as an outpatient clinical dietitian. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the HMO was a newer healthcare model that was emerging in the United States. I counseled patients and taught community classes. I was one of the early dietitians working in the managed care arena at that time because most dietitians worked in hospital settings in the early part of their career.

From there, I worked at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an Academic Health Center, where I worked on the cardiac floor mostly with patients who had diabetes, heart disease, and other cardiovascular issues.

After about 10 years working in clinical settings, I got an opportunity to work for the professional association for dietitians and dietetic professionals, now called the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). That was my first position in association management, the second phase of my career, which would lead to me working in other associations and organizations including the Association for Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). 

How did you come to understand the importance of IPE in healthcare?

The ADCES is an interdisciplinary professional membership association focused on advancing quality diabetes care and education. The organization consists of a number of different health professions including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, physician assistants, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and others. It was truly an interprofessional enterprise.

In my role as director of educational content development, I got to see and hear first-hand the difference interprofessional education made for learners and clinicians. Health professions would tell you they were learning from the other professions and becoming better at their own profession because of it. This is what inspired me to delve deeper into interprofessional education for health professions and the next phase of my career in higher education. Before coming to work at UNLV, I served as the initial director of Interprofessional Education and Practice at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Can you explain what you do in your role now and how you hope to help bring this universitywide endeavor to fruition?

Coming into this role, I’m going to do a lot of listening and learning about current initiatives and curriculum. And not just IPE, but everything going on that impacts the learning and practice environment. Then, I’ll need to consider: What goals can we accomplish in the short and intermediate term? In the long term? IPE entails learning about, from, and with each other to enable successful collaboration and improve outcomes. IPE and training are meant to produce health profession students to go out into settings and work collaboratively to improve healthcare outcomes. That is what IPE is about. I’ll be working with faculty, staff, students, and the community and region to deliver IPE initiatives.

At the end of the day, it’s all about preparing students for what they will encounter once they graduate to improve healthcare in Southern Nevada and the state. Nevada is ranked low in healthcare outcomes, so we are working to move that upward. One way to do that is through interprofessional education and collaborative initiatives.

What was it like growing up in a beach town?

It was wonderful. One thing that comes to mind though, and that I now have more appreciation for, is that on my side of the lake where I grew up, it was much less commercialized and more laid back, in what we call the "Beach Towns of Michigan." I think people often think of Detroit or Grand Rapids when they hear "Michigan." It’s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Detroit from where I grew up. When you’re on the side of the state where I grew up, southwestern Michigan, you’re closer to Chicago, which is where I spent a lot of time. I also spent a lot of time in South Bend, Indiana, as well, which is about 40 minutes from Benton Harbor.

You’ve only been a Las Vegas resident for a couple of months. What have you come to learn about our city?

Everybody I’ve met has been warm and welcoming so far. That part has been great, whether here on campus or around town. I look forward to meeting more people.

I also learned that garbage day here occurs no matter what day it is. In Illinois, your garbage day is pushed back a day if it falls on a holiday. That’s just a known fact. My very first full day here was New Year’s Day, and I thought that garbage day would be pushed back because it was a holiday. I didn’t put my trash out and saw that everyone else had their blue cans out and learned that garbage pickup occurs regardless of whether it’s a holiday or not. Now I know.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I’m also a registered yoga teacher, so I am a big yoga enthusiast. I love to get outside. I’m looking forward to doing more hiking and finding new outdoor activities. I’m also a bit of a foodie, so I love cooking. I enjoy trying new restaurants and I want to learn more about the culture, the region, and do more traveling.