Dr. Paula Arnett is a native of Magoffin County, Kentucky. A first-generation college student, Dr. Arnett completed a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting, Master of Business Administration, and a Health Systems Leadership Certificate at Morehead State University. She received a Doctor of Public Health from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Arnett is a Delta Omega inductee and was a 2014 participant in Leadership Kentucky.
Dr. Arnett has spent the majority of her career at the University of Kentucky in various administrative and teaching roles. She worked in the Area Health Education Center programs focusing on recruitment of students toward rural health care provider career opportunities. She assisted in the development of and was the regional administrator for the Rural Physician Leadership Program in Morehead, Kentucky, in the College of Medicine. Dr. Arnett has served in multiple roles since joining the College of Public Health including the Associate Dean for Research, Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, and College Business Officer, among others. Her current areas of administrative focus include academic affairs, marketing and communication, student affairs, and other special projects such as a member of the Executive Committee for the University of Kentucky Health Education Building.
During her time with the Rural Physician Leadership Program, Dr. Arnett led the implementation of the medical school curriculum through faculty development and became the liaison between the Lexington and Morehead campuses. She developed rural community level experiences for medical students to provide an understanding of their role in a small community and how to influence community level change by collaborating with the public health system. In addition, Dr. Arnett co-developed the Health Systems Leadership Certificate with Morehead State University and St. Claire Regional to provide business and health information technology graduate education to the Rural Physician Leadership Program.
Through her varied work history, education and experience, Dr. Arnett’s expertise lies in leadership and management development, change management, program implementation and evaluation, and quality improvement. She has participated in accreditation reviews for Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), and Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). She has an ongoing interest in rural health and rural public health.
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