Select Presentations & Scholarly Work

Publications

2022

Lombardero, A., Assemi, K., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Trejo, A. & Szarko, A.J. (under review). An Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Framework for Teaching Cultural Humility: A Guide for Translating ACT from a therapeutic context into a medical education curriculum. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings.

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Froehlich, M., Szarko, A.J., Smith, B.M., Kemmelmeier, M., Baker, T.K., Piasecki, M.P., & Schwenk, T.L. Assessment of medical student burnout: Toward an implicit measure to address current issues. Advances in Health Sciences Education.

Szarko, A.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Smith, B.M., Assemi, K., Piasecki, M.P., & Baker, T.L. (in press). Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training on psychological flexibility and burnout in medical education. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

2020

Anbro, S. J., Szarko, A. J., Houmanfar, R. A., Maraccini, A. M., Crosswell, L. H., Harris, F. C., Rebaleati, M., & Starmer, L. (2020). Using virtual simulations to assess situational awareness and communication in medical and nursing education: A technical feasibility study. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 40(1-2), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061.2020.174647

Esquierdo-Leal, J.L., Jacobs, N.N., Strauss, S. (2020). Prejudice in the healthcare system: Remediation strategies. In L. Benuto, M.P. Duckworth, A. Masuda, & W.T. O’Donohue (Eds.), Prejudice, Stigma, Privilege, and Oppression: A behavioral health handbook.

2018

Maraccini, A., Houmanfar, R.A., , Kemmelmeier, M., Piasecki, M., Slonim, A. (2018). An Interprofessional Approach to Train and Evaluate Communication Accuracy and Completeness during the Delivery of Nurse-Physician Student Handoffs. Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice.

2016

Baker, T.K., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Tolles, R., Kuhls, D., Piasecki, M. (2016). A deeper look at implicit weight bias in medical students. Advances in Health Science Education, 1-12. Doi: 10.1007/s10459-016-9718-1  

2015

Baker T.K., Schwenk T., Piasecki M., Smith G.S., Reimer D., Jacobs N.N., Shonkwiler G., Hagen J., Houmanfar R.A. (2015). Cultural Change in a Medical School: A Data-Driven Management of Entropy. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 35, (1-2), 95-122. DOI: 10.1080/01608061.2015.1035826

Presentations

2022

Assemi, K., Houmanfar, R.A., Szarko, A.J., West, D., Jacobs, N.N., Lombardero, A. Exploring Effects of an ACT-Based Cultural Humility Training with Medical Students. To be presented at the 48^th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Boston, MA.

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Assemi, K., Szarko, A.J., Smith, B.M., Jacobs, N.N., Piasecki, M., Baker, T. Examining the Relationships between Psychological Flexibility, Implicit Burnout, and Cooperativeness among Medical Students. To be presented at the 48^th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Boston, MA.

West, D., Houmanfar, R.A., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Dankworth, A., Jacobs, N.N., Bakers, T., Piasecki, M. Measuring the Social Validity of an ACT-Based Wellness Curriculum with Medical Students. To be presented at the 48^th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Boston, MA.

2021

Invited ABAI Panel Discussion on Interdisciplinary Collaboration with Dr. Piasecki, Dr. Jacobs, and Dr. Houmanfar. Virtual. May, 2021.

Pilgrim, C., Etezadi-Amoli, N., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Piasecki, M. (2022). Management of Bias: Behavior Science Meets Medical Education. Invited panel at the 47^th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Virtual. May, 2021.

Strauss, S., Szarko, A.J., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A. Dismantling institutionalized “isms”. Workshop to be presented at the Annual Northern Nevada Diversity Summit. Virtual. April, 2021.

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Froehlich, M., Szarko, A.J., Smith, B.M., Baker, T., Piasecki, M. (2021). Assessment of Medical Student Burnout: Toward an Implicit Measure to Address Current Issues. Symposium to be presented at the Association for Behavioral Analysis International Annual Convention. Virtual. May, 2021.

Szarko, A.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Assemi, K., Smith, B.M., Baker, T., Piasecki, M. (2021). The Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training on Well-Being in Medical Education. Symposium to be presented at the Association for Behavioral Analysis International Annual Convention. Virtual. May, 2021.

2019

Jacobs, N.N., Szarko, A.J., Froehlich, M., Etezadi-Amoli, N., Mauban, E., Strauss, S., Roohani, D., & Houmanfar, R. (2019). Bias and Burnout: A Curricular Training Program to Manage Stigmatization Toward Patients and Self using ACTraining. Workshop presented at the Western Group of Educational for the Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Conference. Reno, NV. March 2019.

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T., Froehlich, M., Szarko, A.J., Brayko, C., & Piasecki, M. (2019). Assessing Implicit Cognition Related to Burnout and its Relevance for Behavior Analysts. Presentation at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. May 2019.

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T., Froehlich, M., & Szarko, A.J. (2019). Developing an Implicit Measure of Burnout with Medical Students. Poster presented at the Western Group of Educational for the Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Conference. Reno, NV. March 2019.

Szarko, A.J., Anbro, S.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Maraccini, A.M., Crosswell, L.H., Jacobs, N.N., Piasecki, M., & Baker, T. (2019, March). Exploring the technical feasibility of virtual reality and eye-tracking in interprofessional healthcare education for medical and nursing students. Poster to be presented at the 2019 Western Group on Educational Affairs, Reno, NV.

2018

Houmanfar, R.A., Esquierdo-Leal, J., Szarko, A.J., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Froehlich, M., Baker, T., & Piasecki, M. (2018). ACT in Organizations: The UNR Med Model for Managing Burnout. Invited presentation at the ACT for Behavior Analysts Bootcamp. Reno, NV. March 2018.

Szarko, A., Anbro, S. Crosswell, L. H., Harris, F., Starmer, L. Rebaleati, M. Maraccini, A., Houmanfar, R. (2018). Examining the effects of TeamSTEPPSⓇ training on interprofessional communication during a virtual reality simulation with medical and nursing students." Presentation at the Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Meet-Up. Reno, NV. October, 2018.

2017

Esquierdo-Leal, J., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N. Go with your gut? Examining the Role of Implicit Biases as they Relate to Diversity in the Workplace. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Denver, CO. May 2017.  

Maraccini, A.M., Houmanfar, R.A., Slonim, A., Piasecki, M. An Interprofessional Approach to the Training and Assessment of Interprofessional Communication with Medical and Nursing Students. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis Ninth International Conference, Paris, France. November 2017.  

Piasecki, M., Brayko, C., Houmanfar, R.A., Szarko, A.J., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., & Baker, T. Integrating a Behavior Analytic Frameworks to Meet the Needs of a Medical School and the Medical Profession. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis Ninth International Conference, Paris, France. November 2017.  

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Szarko, A.J., Esquierdo-Leal, J., Jacobs, N.N., Froehlich, M., Baker, T.K., Piasecki, M. The Role of Implicit Attitude Assessment in Behavior Analytic Interventions of Social Issues. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Denver, CO. May 2017.  

Szarko, A.J. & Houmanfar, R.A. ACT Therapy vs ACT Training: A Behavioral Systemic Approach Towards Developing a Balanced View of Wellness in Higher Education. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Denver, CO. May 2017.  

Szarko, A.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Smith, G.S., Brayko, C., Froehlich, M. A Behavioral Systems Approach Toward Assessing and Alleviating Burnout Among Medical Students. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis Ninth International Conference, Paris, France. November 2017.  

2016

Baker, T.K., Smith,G.S., Kuhls, D., Piasecki, M., Brayko, C., Houmanfar, R.A., & Jacobs, N.N. Assessing Implicit Attitudes of Burnout Among Medical Students. Oral Abstract Presentation conducted at Western Group of Educational Affairs Conference. April 2016.  

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Szarko, A.J., Baker, T.K., Jacobs, N.N., Kuhls, D. Piasecki, M. The Adaptation of the Implicit Behavioral Assessment Technology to Guide Curriculum Development. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. May 2016.  

Szarko, A.J., Brayko, C., Houmanfar, R.A., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T.K., Kuhls, D., Piasecki, M. Determining the Effects of ACTraining on Measures of Implicit Attitudes and Burnout: A New Spin on Curriculum Training in Medical Education. Symposium conducted at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. May 2016.

2014

Baker T.K., Jacobs N.N., Kuhls D., Houmanfar R.A., Smith G.S., Piasecki M. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP): A tool to assess burnout and implicit attitudes among medical students.  Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Meeting.  Chicago, IL. Nov 2014.  

Moore S., Baker T.K., Piasecki M., Jacobs N.N., Shonkwiler G., Houmanfar R.A., Smith G.S., Tolles R. Shining A Light On Implicit Bias: The Use Of A Novel Assessment In Medical Education. UNLV-UNSOM Interprofessional Health Equity Symposium, Las Vegas, NV. Oct 2014.  

Schwenk T., Piasecki M., Baker T.K. Culture Change in a Medical School: The Role of Behavioral Assessments.  B.F. Skinner Lecture Series. Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. May 2014.  

Smith G.S., Jacobs N.N., Houmanfar R.A., Baker T.K., Piasecki M., Tolles R., Martin, K. Create, Adapt, Adopt: Tools to Inform Decision-Making and Promote Organizational Change in a Medical School. The Adaptation of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure to Guide Curriculum Development.  Symposium. Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. May 2014.  

2013

Smith, G. S., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Piasecki, M., Shonkwiler, G., & Tolles, R. (April, 2013).  Implementation of a Mixed Trial-Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (MT-IRAP) in medical education.  Paper presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Western Group on Educational Affairs, Irvine, CA.  

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Shonkwiler, G., Jacobs, N.N., Tolles, R. & Piasecki, M. (2013). The Role of MT-IRAP as an Assessment Tool in the Design of Training Program in Medical School.  Paper presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) 39th Annual Convention; Minneapolis, MN.  

Smith, G. S., Houmanfar, R.A., Reimer, D., Piasekci, M., Shonkwiler, G., & Jacobs, N. N. (February,2013).  The utility of Mixed-Trial Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (MT-IRAP) for decision making in organizations.  In R. Houmanfar (Chair), The role of communication and verbal networks in organizational change.  Symposium conducted at the Organizational Behavior Management Network, Garden Grove, CA.

Posters

2022

Li, I., Le, N., Kim, A., Attridge, B., Enokenwa, M., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Watson, R., DiMassa, V., Jacobs, N.N., & Houmanfar, R.A. (2022). What medical students really think of wellness programs: Student perceptions of Acceptance and Commitment Training. Poster presented at the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association 2022 National Conference, Columbus, OH. January, 2022.

Li, I., Watson, R., DiMassa, V., West, D., Assemi, K., Szarko, A., Jacobs, N., Houmanfar, R (2022). Improving the Acceptability and Utility of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Amongst Medical Students. Poster presented at the 48^th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Boston, MA.

2021

Attridge, B., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Kim, A., Le, N., Enokenwa, M., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Students’ Perception of Acceptance and Commitment Training. Poster to be presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Convention. Virtual. May, 2021.

Kim, A., Le, N., Enokenwa, M., Attridge, B., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A. (2021). Student Perspectives on Acceptance and Commitment Training within a Medical Education Curriculum. Poster to be presented at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Annual Convention. June, 2021.

Le, N., Kim, A., Enokenwa, M., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A. (2021). Student Perspectives on Acceptance and Commitment Training within a Medical Education Curriculum. Poster to be presented at the American Student Medical Association Annual Conference. March, 2021.

Trejo, S., Strauss, S., Nguyen, E., Jacobs, N.N., Lombardero, A., Cotton, A., Szarko, A.J., Assemi, K., Houmanfar, R.A. (2021). Development of Cultural Humility through a Medical Spanish Elective. Poster to be presented at the AAMC GEA Regional Spring Conference. Virtual. April, 2021.

2020

Szarko, A.J., & Houmanfar, R.A. (2020). Burnout and Bias: The Relationship between Systemic and Psychological Factors on Healthcare Disparities. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s Culturo-Behavior Conference. Virtual. October, 2020.

Szarko, A.J., Montgomery, C., Murillo, A., Dykstra, S., & Houmanfar, R.A. (2020). Teaching Medical Students Cultural Humility with Acceptance and Commitment Training. Poster presented at the Nevada Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Conference. Virtual. October, 2020.

2019

Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T., Froehlich, M., & Szarko, A.J. (2019). Developing an Implicit Measure of Burnout with Medical Students. Poster presented at the Western Group of Educational for the Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Conference. Reno, NV. March 2019.

Szarko, A.J., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Smith, G.S., Etezadi-Amoli, N., Baker, T., Piasecki, M. (2019). Bias and Burnout: A Curricular Training Program to Manage Stigmatization Toward Patients and Self using ACT training. Poster presented at the Louisiana-Mississippi Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Regional Conference. Oxford, MI. July 2019.

Szarko, A.J., Anbro, S.J., Houmanfar, R.A., Maraccini, A.M., Crosswell, L.H., Jacobs, N.N., Piasecki, M., & Baker, T. (2019, March). Exploring the technical feasibility of virtual reality and eye-tracking in interprofessional healthcare education for medical and nursing students. Poster presented at the 2019 Western Group on Educational Affairs, Reno, NV.

2018

Anbro, S.J., Szarko, A.J., Ruiz, J., Corona, J., Rebaleati, M., Starmer, L., Maraccini, A.M., Crosswell, L.H., & Houmanfar, R.A. (2018, October). Exploring the technical feasibility of virtual reality: Assessing medical and nursing students' situational awareness within a simulated medical emergency. Poster presented at the 2018 Annual Conference for the Nevada Association for Behavior Analysis, Las Vegas, NV.

Anbro, S.J., Szarko, A.J., Nilsen, S.M., Houmanfar, R.A., Crosswell, L., Starmer, L., Maraccini, A.M. (2018). Evaluating Simulations in Behavior Science: Measuring Complex Behavior in the Human Operant Chamber of the Future. Poster at Association for Behavior Analysis International Convention, San Diego, CA. May 2018.  

Esquierdo-Leal, J.L., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Myers, S., Kloth, C., Gernetzke, A., & Piasecki, M. (2018).Identifying and Managing Implicit Bias in the Search Process at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med).  Poster presented at the Northern Nevada Diversity Summit, Reno, NV.  

Froehlich, M., Szarko, A.J., Jacobs, N.N., Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., Baker, T., & Piasecki, M. (2018). Addressing Burnout with Acceptance and Commitment Training. Western Group of Educational Affairs Regional Meeting. Denver, CO. March, 2018.  

Mauban, E., Szarko, A.J., Jacobs, N.N., Smith, G.S., Houmanfar, R.A., & Piasecki, M. (2018). Acceptance and Commitment Training in Medical Education: Insight into Peer-Led Discussion of Student Wellness. Western Group of Educational Affairs Regional Meeting. Denver, CO. March, 2018.  

2017

Szarko, A.J., Brayko, C., Houmanfar, R.A., Esquierdo-Leal, J., Smith, G.S., Froehlich, M., Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T.K., Piasecki, M. Managing burnout in the curriculum at UNR Med. UNR Diversity Summit, Reno, NV, Spring 2017.  

2016

Baker, T.K., Smith, G.S., Jacobs, N.N., Houmanfar, R.A., Tolles, R., Kuhls, D., Piasecki, M. (2016). A deeper look at implicit weight bias in medical students. Advances in Health Science Education, 1-12. Doi: 10.1007/s10459-016-9718-1

Brayko, C., Smith, G., Szarko, A., Candido, A., Houmanfar, R., Jacobs, N., Baker, T., Ishibashi, K., Piasecki, M., Schwenk, T. "Ethical dilemmas surrounding physician wellness and burnout." Poster presented at Cambridge Consortium for Bioethics Education: Paris, France, July, 2016.

Jacobs, N.N., Baker, T.K., Piasecki, M., Kuhls, D., Crosswell, L., Smith, G.S., Brayko, C., Candido, A., Szarko, A.J., Houmanfar, R.A. The implicit bias relational assessment (IRAP): How implicit bias is assessed and addressed at UNSOM. UNR Diversity Summit, Reno, NV, Spring 2016.  

2015

Baker T.K., Schwenk T., Piasecki M., Smith G.S., Reimer D., Jacobs N.N., Shonkwiler G., Hagen J., Houmanfar R.A. (2015). Cultural Change in a Medical School: A Data-Driven Management of Entropy. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 35, (1-2), 95-122. DOI: 10.1080/01608061.2015.1035826

2014

Baker T.K., Jacobs N.N., Kuhls D., Houmanfar R.A., Smith G.S., Piasecki M. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP): A tool to assess burnout and implicit attitudes among medical students. Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. Nov 2014.

Moore S., Baker T.K., Piasecki M., Jacobs N.N., Shonkwiler G., Houmanfar R.A., Smith G.S., Tolles R. Shining A Light On Implicit Bias: The Use Of A Novel Assessment In Medical Education. UNLV-UNSOM Interprofessional Health Equity Symposium, Las Vegas, NV. Oct 2014.