New GVSU health majors to prepare students for growing job market

Nearly 100 Grand Valley State University students may be on more promising career paths as a result of the school’s decision to establish three new majors in the health professions category.

Roy Olsson, dean of the GVSU College of Health Professions, says new majors for radiation therapy, radiologic and imaging sciences, and diagnostic medical sonography are designed to help students graduate more quickly and put more emphasis on their specific field of study.

GVSU is the only university in the nation offering bachelor’s degree programs in medical sonography and pediatric echocardiography.

Before the establishment of the three new majors, the three fields of study were points of emphasis under the more general health professions major.

“Those fields are uniquely different, and there weren’t a lot of shared courses between them,” Olsson says. “Just because they all have radiation doesn’t necessarily mean they’re very close. None of them would be located in the same part of a hospital, nor would they work together.”

Each of the three majors has approximately 30 students in fields that promise good-paying jobs expected to grow by 25 percent between now and 2016 as number of people needing radiation therapy rises.

The establishment of the three majors does not require GVSU to hire any new instructors, as all three subjects were already part of the larger curriculum. But Olsson said the structural change will help students graduate more quickly by eliminating some unnecessary course requirements.

“I don’t want programs structured so the students can’t graduate in four years,” Olsson said.

Source:  Roy Olsson, Grand Valley State University

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at
[email protected].
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