Health care professions and careers are recognized as one of the leading career and job opportunities of this decade. While this distinction provides ample opportunity for careers in the health care environment Sacred Heart University is mindful of providing degree offerings that actually lead to employment opportunities for our graduates or prepares them for entry into
graduate education programs.
While the
Health Sciences major,
pre-professional track prepares under graduate students to pursue graduate health professions education programs, there are many health related careers that are not clinically oriented, which Sacred Heart University undergraduate students have expressed an interest in. The minor in Health Science will provide an opportunity for students to gain knowledge of the current and future health care environment while pursuing undergraduate degrees such as business administration, computer science and information technology, accounting and finance. The Health Science minor may also be attractive to Biology majors interested in pursuing entry into medical school or physician assistant programs.
The objectives of the Minor in Health Science are for student to:
- Demonstrate knowledge in trends in health care, health care systems, policy, and environments
- Demonstrate awareness of the legal issues, health and social care policies, issues and trends as they influence health care environments
- Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of disparities to accessing health care
- Understand the ethical standards, values and attitudes appropriate to health care professionals and administrative personnel
These four objectives are important for students with other majors as it does create an awareness of the overall healthcare environment. For example, while an accountant in a healthcare organization will not likely have direct patient contact, he/she would need to understand the organizational impact (healthcare policies, legal/ethical considerations and disparities to access) of the content of the selected courses.