10-15-2023 EDU - Flipbook - Page 8
8 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 15, 2023
Advancing health education
New programs and partnerships fuel growth
By Alex Keown, Contributing Writer
H
ealth care is an ever-expanding
field that offers a variety of career
paths. Three of Maryland’s institutes of higher learning developed
new courses of study and partnerships that provide students with the educational
experience and mindset for future roles within
these fields..
After securing approval from the Maryland
Higher Education Commission, McDaniel
College is developing a comprehensive fouryear Bachelor of Science in nursing. The new
program, expected to begin in the fall of 2024,
will help address the nursing shortage in Carroll
County and the surrounding region, McDaniel
College Provost Flavius Lilly says.
“We want our nursing graduates to step
right in at the hospital and meet that demand
for nurses at the hospital,” Lilly says. “We’re
really eager to start promoting this program.”
The bachelor of science program will train
students in various health care topics, including patient care technology, research and more.
When the first cohort of McDaniel College
nursing students complete their degrees, they
will be ready to take their licensing exam and
apply for jobs in Carroll County and beyond.
Lilly notes that there is still quite a bit of
work to be completed before the first cohort
of students begins their studies. The school is
in the process of hiring a program director for
the new degree program. That individual will
then hire faculty and consult on the facilities
that will be necessary for the nursing program,
he says.
When the nursing program begins, Lilly
says they anticipate a small class of 25 and
30 students to begin with. Those numbers
are expected to increase as the degree program gains more notice across Maryland. Some
potential students are expected to transfer from
Carroll Community College, which offers an
associate’s degree in nursing.
Over the past decade, McDaniel College has
increased its focus on the health sciences. Over
the past three years, McDaniel added 11 new
majors. Lilly says the programs are all designed
with relevance in the workplace in mind.
“I don’t think any of this could have happened without the support of the hospital. They
have been great partners through all of this.
They know what they need. The hospital has a
voice and a role in helping us understand what
nurses of the future look like,” Lilly says.
McDaniel College isn’t the only Maryland
institute of higher learning to implement a new
course of study. Beginning this fall at Salisbury
University, students will be able to begin a new
minor course of study in health education. The
course was developed last year and will complement the university’s current study programs in
health, as well as its coursework in elementary
and secondary education.
The goal of the new minor program is to
better prepare future teachers for the P-12
Praxis II exam, a licensure examination for educators, Brandye Nobiling, Salisbury University’s
public health program director says. In May of
2021 Maryland increased the number of health
credits needed for students obtain a high school
diploma. To meet the demands of additional
credits, schools will need more teachers who
are certified to teach health courses. Salisbury’s
new program will meet those needs.
Nobiling says the new minor program will
provide more professionally prepared health
teachers for the state of Maryland. She adds
that the new program will strengthen the university’s recruiting power for future students
who are exploring a career in education. The
program is already attracting interest from current Salisbury University students.
Jacob Havins, a senior at Salisbury
University who is studying physical education,
plans to shift his current health minor study to
the new health education minor program. He
says the health education minor will strengthen
their national title in ChemE Jeopardy! For students, intellectual sports are a space in which to
learn, practice, and refine the skills they’ll use in
myriad future professions.”
The most readily recognized intellectual
sports teams are Mock Trial and Society of
Automotive Engineers (also known as UMBC
Racing). Mock Trial was the 2021 American
Mock Trial Association national champions
(beating Yale to that distinction). UMBC
Racing competes in SAE Baja, which entails
their transporting their dune buggy across the
nation to pit it against universities from the U.S.
and abroad.
“While sports teams are easier to follow –
intellectual sports competitions are rarely set
up to support large audiences – UMBC has a
long history of being particularly proud of the
accomplishments of our academically-based
organizations,” says Goodhue.
For Mock Trial member Samisha Connor,
financial economics ‘25, participating on a
UMBC Intellectual Sports team has transformed her academic journey in ways she could
have never imagined. “As someone who once
lacked self-confidence and struggled to express
myself, Mock Trial has become a haven for
growth and empowerment,” she says. “It’s more
than just competing for me; it's a platform for
refining my critical thinking abilities, adapting to ever-changing situations, maintaining
composure under pressure, improving my timemanagement skills, and above all, building that
self-confidence.“
AIChE member Benjamin Welling, chemical engineering, ’25, adds that he sees intellectual sports as a great low barrier to entry for
students looking to gain experience.
“By getting involved with the chemical engineering car team at UMBC, I was able to gain
hands-on experience that helped me secure
internship and research opportunities. I have
also learned things that cannot be found in
engineering textbooks, like leadership skills and
organizational techniques."
his resume when he begins to look for employment following graduation.
“I want my resume to show that I know
more. Having this minor will show I have more
credentials and a broader understanding of
health education,” he says.
The health education minor is a flexible
program, requiring 20 credits that include foundational classes, as well as numerous electives
in a variety of health studies. Electives include
courses in nutrition, drug education, sexuality,
methods, communicable diseases and more.
Doctoral students at Notre Dame of
Maryland’s school of pharmacy have the opportunity to put their studies into practice through
AdvoCaring, a public health initiative. An
outreach program, AdvoCaring pairs students
working toward a Doctor of Pharmacy degree
with community-based organizations to support ongoing health fairs and initiatives within
area communities. The students provide flu
vaccines, conduct blood pressure tests and participate in the collection of expired medication.
AdvoCaring allows the students to see their
role in the profession beyond that of someone who dispenses medication. It provides the
pharmacy students with the opportunity to
provide hands-on quality care for diverse populations, such as the population of Baltimore.
Dr. Jane Ho, assistant professor in the school
of pharmacy, says partnering with AdvoCaring
supports the school’s mission to educate student pharmacists so that they can become
compassionate, ethical health care professionals. She explains that professional development
is shifting toward patient-centered care. This
allows pharmacists to step out from behind the
counter and have a personal interaction with
patients in order to lead to patient-centered
care, Ho says. She adds that the program
helps break down barriers between patient and
pharmacy and fosters a strong sense of social
responsibility.
“The AdvoCaring program is all about public health and prevention strategies. Screening is
a big part of the program. Part of public health
is preventing diseases,” Ho says. “AdvoCaring
is about having connection to your local community and having hands-on interaction with a
vulnerable and underserved population. That’s
a really important aspect of living in our city.
We hope to empower our student pharmacists
to be advocates or positive change in the health
care community.”
Kunjrani Pani, a third-year student in the
school of pharmacy, says AdvoCaring shows
pharmacy students the importance of understanding the needs of their patients, particularly
in a city with a widely diverse population like
Baltimore. Her experiences with AdvoCaring
have made her keenly aware of patient engagement.
“Building trust with the people we serve is
something we have to do as pharmacists,” Pani
says. “We can’t be afraid to have an interactive
relationship with patients and be focused on
their needs.”
Student organizations, from page 1
University of Baltimore Seeks to Engage
Diverse Community of Students
Though predominantly a commuter school,
University of Baltimore works hard to create an
engaged student community that includes not
only first-time undergraduate students, but also
graduate students, adult learners, full-and parttime employees, many of whom are also heads
of families and caregivers.
With a large number of adult learners,
some of UB’s strongest student organizations
are focused on the professions and academic
success, such as honor societies, career-focused
groups, and student associations that focus on
the various academic disciplines.
“That said, we also have students eager
to join groups that plan events, create fun
activities, and build community and affinity on
campus across all segments of our population,”
says Anthony Butler, director of the Rosenberg
Center for Student Engagement and Inclusion.
Butler observes that the period of virtual
learning in 2020 and 2021 was challenging for
student groups, with only a handful able to find
ways to engage virtually.
“Groups found it challenging to build sustainable leadership and membership,” he says,
but notes that since UB returned to a hybrid
schedule in Summer of 2021, it has seen an
increase in participation in student organizations and more lively student events each
semester. “This year, we are expecting a dramatic increase in on-campus events and participation as we return to the more traditional
on-campus offerings that students have come
to expect.”
Butler says that the students attending UB
want a lot of the same opportunities that students at residential institutions are looking for,
such as a way to connect, build community,
find places to belong, and build their leadership
resume.
“Our students are savvy and know that the
experiences they have on campus will deepen
their academic experience and help position
them to grow in their careers,” says Butler.
“We focus on quality events and sustainable
traditions, because our students have busy lives
and careers, so the events they attend must be
significant and engaging.”
Llatetra Brown Esters, Ed.D., associate vice
president of student success and dean of students, notes that when students are engaged, the
university benefits as well.
“Research in higher education clearly indicates that students who are involved are more
successful. Engaged students often develop a
vested interest in the university and surrounding communities, build a strong sense of connection, and inspire involvement from their
peers, all of which help to build a vibrant university environment.”
Top left: Loyola Sellinger Scholars Program participants. Top right: The UMBC Retriever Robotics team participates in several competitions. Second row left and bottom: UMBC is proud of its various intellectual sports teams.
