New Cohort of RN to BSN Students to Begin in January
As the first group of students in the new RN to BSN program at Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences gears up for its second semester of work, a new cohort of nurses seeking bachelor’s degrees will enroll in January.
According to program director Drew Gogian, the incoming class of students represents a wider geographical area, as facilities and practitioners across the state and beyond learn more about the online program based at Mary Baldwin’s Fishersville campus.
PA Program to Launch in January with Full Class
Design by Kahler Slater, Photo Copyright Kate Joyce Studios 2015When Kelli Cash ’15 walks into the foyer of Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences next month, the Mary Baldwin graduate will be one step closer to a career in medicine, a dream delayed but not deterred by raising a family of four boys and a career in emergency services.
Cash, who earned her undergraduate degree in psychology in May in the university’s Adult Degree Program, was the first student admitted to the new Master of Science in Physician Assistant program, which will officially launch on January 4 with a full class of 38 students.
Students Dive into Program Development
In keeping with its mission to provide interprofessional educational opportunities and to reach out into the community, Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences is offering students in the physical therapy and occupational therapy programs a course that provides assistance to local agencies focused on community health.
Small teams of students in the community practicum course are paired up with various agencies or service groups to support proposed improvements.
Scholarships Boost Travel Abroad Opportunity
Second-year Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences students Danielle Lare and Joanna Bierlein have received study abroad scholarships to help fund a summer trip to Haiti to explore health care and rehabilitative services with Professor of Physical Therapy Kai Kennedy. Lare was awarded the Sara Forrest Thompson Hunt Mission Fund scholarship and Bierlein received the Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement Endowed Fund scholarship. Both were earned through a competitive application process.
Holiday Cheer
Students took time out of their busy schedules to share a little holiday cheer at Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences.
All programs have initiated the appropriate professional accreditation process.
Mary Baldwin College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) to award bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Inquiries concerning accreditation status only should be directed to: SACS-COC, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097; (404) 679-4500.
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Effective November 6, 2013, Mary Baldwin College has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation.
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The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Mary Baldwin College Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Mary Baldwin College.
Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.
Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.
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The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) at its August 6-9, 2015 meeting. AOTA is located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. Once accreditation of the program has been obtained, its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.