Health Professions

The Health Professions Department offers the following programs and courses:

Eating Disorders Minor
Gerontology Minor
Gerontology Certificate
Health Care Management Major
Health Care Management Minor
Health Education Service Courses
Integrative Therapeutic Practices Major
Integrative Therapeutic Practices Minor (previously Holistic Health and Wellness)
Recreation Professions Major
Recreation Services Minor
Human Nutrition - Dietetics Major
Nutrition Minor

The purposes of the programs in the Health Professions Department are to stimulate the personal and professional development of health care and recreation workers, to stimulate awareness of health care trends and issues, and to prepare health care professionals to cope with the future problems of health care delivery in a rapidly changing society.

The Health Professions Department offers four majors: a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management, a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrative Therapeutic Practices, a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition - Dietetics, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Professions with either a Recreation Management or Therapeutic Recreation concentration. The department also offers minors in Eating Disorders, Health Care Management, Integrative Therapeutic Practices, Recreation, and Nutrition, and coordinates the interdisciplinary minor, Gerontology. Health education services courses are offered for non-health majors and health majors.

Students desiring to enter programs in the Health Professions Department should seek academic advising from a faculty member in the department prior to registration for classes. Students are responsible for keeping themselves informed of the latest program changes. Current program materials are available in the Health Professions Department.

Health Care Management

The College’s undergraduate degree program in health care management prepares students for direct entry into management within the health care field. By combining courses in health care management with other disciplines such as marketing, computer information systems, accounting, and economics, the program gives students a strong foundation in management as it specifically relates to health care.

Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses required for the major (HCM and all required support courses) in order to progress through the program. Courses with grades of less than “C” must be repeated in order for the student to take any other courses for which the first course is a prerequisite. All general requirements of the College for a Bachelor of Science degree must be met prior to graduation.

Healthcare managers are employed in a variety of facilities and organizations: hospitals; nursing homes; health departments; educational institutions; health maintenance organizations; wellness programs; industrial health programs; the insurance industry; and governmental agencies at local, state, and national levels.

The Health Care Management program is housed in the Health Professions Department. For more information call 303-556-3130.

Educational Goals and Outcomes

The baccalaureate health care management program has established the following outcomes for all graduates. The health care management graduate:

Effectively manages health delivery systems, maximizing quality, and quantity of services and human resources in the face of limited fiscal support.
Views health delivery as having multiple interdependent components within an environmental context.
Initiates and effectively manages change in a rapidly evolving health care environment.
Identifies the effects of law on the role of managers in health delivery systems and the challenge of managing within a legal and ethical framework.
Uses research and information science methodologies to solve management problems in health delivery systems.
Applies basic economic and fiscal principles in the management of health delivery systems.
Accepts accountability for continued learning by acquiring knowledge and skills that meet the changing needs of self, client, management, and society.

Assessment Methodology

The student’s administrative performance will be evaluated during the internship experience (HCM 4510, Health Care Management Practicum), based on previously agreed-upon objectives. The program exit evaluation will be a combined effort of the student, a faculty member, and preceptor.

Health Education Services

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Integrative Therapeutic Practices

The Integrative Therapeutic Practices program offers students courses that integrate the most recent scientific evidence with the oldest of healing traditions. The program draws from disciplines such as health education services, health care management, biology, chemistry, and nutrition. Students examine the diverse factors that impinge on an individual’s health and well-being. Students receive a broad-based understanding of the principles of human health and disease, the theories underlying healing practices, and the scientific research methods needed to evaluate the latest techniques in this dynamic field.

The Integrative Therapeutic Practices program offers a major, an extended major and a minor. The major and extended major are designed for students interested in working in the expanding complementary and alternative health care field. The minor is designed for students who recognize the increased emphasis on wellness in several professional fields and/or for health-conscious individuals who wish to establish a self-enhancement program. The minor can complement a major that is relevant to the student’s career goals.

Minors that would complement this major include, but are not limited to, Health Care Management, Nutrition, Gerontology, Recreation Services, Eating Disorders, Journalism, Spanish, Marketing, Human Services, Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry.

Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses required for the major in order to progress through the program. Courses with grades of less than “C” must be repeated in order for the student to take any other courses for which the first course is a prerequisite. All general requirements of the College for a Bachelor of Science degree must be met prior to graduation.

In addition, students majoring in Integrative Therapeutic Practices must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 and major GPA of 2.5. If either GPA falls below the minimum, one of the following will occur:

The student will be placed on academic probation and have one semester to bring the GPA(s) up to acceptable levels, while remaining in the course sequence.
If the student fails to bring the GPA(s) up to acceptable levels after one semester, the student will be suspended from the major until the minimum GPA(s) is/are achieved. Resumption in the Integrative Therapeutic Practices major will commence in the appropriate sequential semester.
If, after two semesters, the student does not bring the GPA(s) to acceptable levels, the student will be dismissed from the Integrative Therapeutic Practices major and advised to decide if they want to improve their GPA and re-apply for the Integrative Therapeutic Practices major or choose another major with different GPA expectations.
If the GPA(s) is/are raised to the minimum, the dismissal may be appealed.

Third- and fourth-year students will be notified of their status by June 1st of each year.

The Integrative Therapeutic Practices program is housed in the Health Professions Department. Students enrolling in the major or minor must confer with a department advisor as soon as possible. For more information, call 303-556-3130.

Educational Goals and Outcomes

The baccalaureate integrative therapeutic practices program has established the following outcomes for all graduates. The integrative therapeutic practices graduate will be prepared to:

Demonstrate an attitude of caring, flexibility, and self-confidence in a health care setting.
Act in an ethical and legal manner in applying the leadership roles of collaborator, resource person, change agent, teacher, and advocate.
Integrate a variety of communication skills, media techniques, and strategies effectively and appropriately to influence health.
Assess health situations and recommend appropriate healing practices.
Evaluate global health systems to identify social and health-care trends in order to anticipate the future of health care.
Apply scientific method to health-care problems.
Apply knowledge of natural science principles in a healing practice.

Nutrition

Human Nutrition - Dietetics

Students seeking a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Human Nutrition - Dietetics will be prepared for traditional, non-traditional, and entrepreneurial positions in health care that utilize knowledge of nutrition. Professionals trained in nutrition have numerous career options due to the growing emphasis on nutrition, health and wellness.

Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses required for the major in order to progress through the program. Courses with grades less than “C” will need to be repeated in order for the student to take any other courses for which the first course is a prerequisite. All general requirements of the College for a Bachelor of Science degree must be met prior to graduation.

In addition, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 and major GPA of 2.5. If either GPA falls below the minimum, one of the following will occur:

The student will be placed on academic probation and have one semester to bring the GPA(s) up to acceptable levels, while remaining in the course sequence.
If the student fails to bring the GPA(s) up to acceptable levels after one semester, the student will be suspended from the major until the minimum GPA(s) is/are achieved. Resumption in the Human Nutrition - Dietetics major will commence in the appropriate sequential semester.
If, after two semesters, the student does not bring the GPA(s) to acceptable levels, the student will be dismissed from the Human Nutrition - Dietetics major and advised to decide if they want to improve their GPA and re-apply for the Human Nutrition - Dietetics major or choose another major with different GPA expectations.
If the GPA(s) is/are raised to the minimum, the dismissal may be appealed.

Third- and fourth-year students will be notified of their status by June 1st of each year.

The Human Nutrition–Dietetics major is housed in the Health Professions Department, Nutrition Program. Students enrolling in the major must confer with a department advisor as soon as possible. For more information, call 303-556-3130.

Educational Goals and Outcomes

The baccalaureate degree in Human Nutrition - Dietetics has established the following outcomes for all graduates. The Human Nutrition–Dietetics graduate will be able to:

Recognize disparities in health care and demonstrate cultural sensitivity.
Demonstrate knowledge of nutritional and sensory properties of foods.
Effectively assess nutrition status, make a nutrition diagnosis, plan and implement effective intervention programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.
Discuss the role of nutrition.
Apply nutrition principles and techniques in nutrition education and counseling.
Demonstrate effective verbal and written communication skills in the area of nutrition.
Apply critical thinking and evidence-based analysis of research to nutrition problems.

Gerontology Programs

The purposes of the interdisciplinary gerontology programs are to provide an organized, systematic exploration of aging within society that enables students to develop beginning skills to effectively work directly or indirectly with older populations in a variety of settings; to cultivate a positive attitude toward aging; and to emphasize the dignity and worth of each individual. The programs in gerontology are administered by the Department of Health Professions, 303-556-3130.

Students have a variety of program options in Gerontology to select from: a certificate in Gerontology; a minor in Gerontology; and a major in Human Development (Applied Track Gerontology) or a major in Sociology (Gerontology Concentration) or a major in Social Work (Aging Concentration). In addition, students interested in Gerontology are advised by faculty to take courses related to Gerontology that meet their interests.

Students desiring or considering entry to any of the Gerontology programs need to seek academic advising from the Gerontology advisor in the Department of Health Professions. Students are responsible for keeping themselves informed of the latest program changes. Up-to-date program materials and requirements are available in the Department of Health Professions. Students seeking a major concentration in Gerontology should seek academic advising in one of the above major departments. Students must pass all courses in the gerontology program of choice with a grade of “C” or better.

Graduates in Gerontology are employed in a variety of facilities and organizations: community, human service, and religious organizations; exercise, fitness, mental health, acute health care, and long-term care institutions; federal, state, and local government agencies, including the aging network; retirement communities; academic and other educational and research settings; professional organizations; and business and industry.

Gerontology Certificate of Completion Program: See the gerontology advisor in the Department of Health Professions for information about the Gerontology Certificate of Completion. (See below.)

Human Development Major with an Applied Track Gerontology Concentration: See the gerontology advisor in the Department of Psychology.

Sociology Major with a Gerontology Concentration: See an advisor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Behavioral Science for information on this program.

Social Work Major with an Aging Concentration: See an advisor in the Department of Social Work
for information on his program.