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WesternU Master of Science in Health Sciences program helps grow healthier communities and develop better teachers

by Rodney Tanaka

October 3, 2019

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Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Health Sciences wants to introduce you to a program that equips graduates to improve community health and become better teachers.

CHS will hold an information session for the Master of Science in Health Sciences (MSHS) program from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 16 in the WesternU Health Education Center, Classroom F, 701 E. Second St., Pomona, California 91766. Click here to view a flier: http://webassets.westernu.edu/westernu-news/docs/MSHS-info-session-digital-2019.jpg

The event will allow guests to explore opportunities the MSHS program provides, speak to current students and alumni, and connect their professional goals with the program’s objectives.

Click here to visit the Master of Science in Health Sciences website: https://www.westernu.edu/health-sciences/allied-health-mshs/

Click here to visit the MSHS Prospective Students website: https://prospective.westernu.edu/health-sciences/mshs/

“The MSHS program is one of those hidden diamonds that people don’t see. It provides knowledge that everybody can use and grow from,” said College of Health Sciences Interim Dean Dee Schilling, PT, PhD, FAANP. “The MSHS program provides an amazing opportunity to enter the world of health care, make a huge difference and, when you graduate, have an employable degree.”

The MSHS program has two tracks, the Health Professions Education (HPE) Track and the Community Health Education Track. Community Health Education is the art and science of affecting health and wellness behavior at the community level.  Health education is a process that enables individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities to play active roles in achieving and sustaining health.

HPE students are health care providers, or aspiring health care providers, with a desire to teach. Most professors and teachers in the health professions come to education through their careers as health care professionals.

“We hire a lot of amazing individuals who are well seasoned in education but, at this institution and across the country, we also hire amazing clinicians who never taught,” Schilling said. “They need to know how to teach. That is a very different skill set. The MSHS program provides an opportunity to learn how to do that.”

About 30 WesternU faculty and staff are MSHS alumni, across multiple disciplines and job descriptions. Ruth Harris, MLIS, MSHS ’18, completed the Health Professions Education track to build on her instructional skills. She is the Education Services Librarian for WesternU’s Harriet K. and Philip Pumerantz Library.

Master of Science in Health Sciences graduates celebrate Commencement May 23, 2018, including Pumerantz Library Education Services Librarian Ruth Harris (second from right), MLIS, MSHS ’18, and COMP Director of Outreach and Strategic Partnerships Thomas A. Fox (far right), MSHS ’19. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)

“I have a better understanding of learning styles and how to accommodate a variety of learners in my instruction,” Harris said. “My favorite class by far was the Student Learning Theories course. This course helped me recognize how students learn and how a variety of learning styles can be accommodated by changing up the teaching method. As challenging as Applied Statistics was for me, it provided me with a good foundation for being able to critically appraise the literature, with an understanding of statistical tests and the types of research questions for which they are appropriate.”

Thomas A. Fox, MSHS ’19, entered the MSHS program to help him perform better in his job as the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific’s Director of Outreach and Strategic Partnerships.

“Several times per year, we host students from all over Southern California on campus, and the knowledge I gained from the program allowed me to not only better coordinate the efforts but also track valuable information to give the projects longevity,” Fox said. “The program also provided networking opportunities with local organizations and opportunities for more students from WesternU colleges to work with local high school students who have a dream of one day attending medical school.”

The MSHS program has two enrollment periods – fall and spring. The MSHS program no longer requires the Graduate Record Examination for application and admission. The program is a hybrid of online and on-campus courses that allow students to continue to work full time.

“You can do so much with this degree,” said Department of Health Sciences Chair Gail Evans Grayson, EdD, MA. “We are creating those leaders, those pillars of the community that deal with social determinants of health, locally in the U.S. and internationally.”

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