Health Services Administration

ACHE Regent on future of HSA
Joseph M. Tasse, FACHE, St. John Macomb Hospital president and CEO and regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives, delivered a presentation in late November to undergraduate and graduate students about the current plans for healthcare reform. Students had questions about the ways in which the changes would affect their future careers and opportunities for employment. Because the legislation is new, the answers to these questions were somewhat speculative; however, the outlook for new administrators is quite good.  

Job shadowing offers glimpse of future
The Midwest Healthcare Executive Group and Associates sponsored a Job Shadow Event with HSA in February. Nine Master of Health Services Administration students participated and were matched with executives in their area of interest.  Each student met with the selected healthcare executive who arranged for the student to attend meetings with him/her, introduced the student to directors in various departments and provided a perspective on the daily life of the executive. The executives were volunteers from Trinity Health, St. John Health, Botsford Hospital, William Beaumont Hospital, Providence Hospital, Crittenton Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. Evaluations from the students and the executives about the experience were very positive.

New by-laws for HSA Student Chapter
The newly elected officers of the UDM Health Services Administration Student Chapter drafted a new set of by-laws for the organization. These new by-laws combine the UDM HSA Student Chapter with a Student Advisory Council for the HSA program. Fady Mansour and Kimberly Bray were recognized for their work with the Council at the University's annual Honors Convocation in March.

Nursing

Accreditation visit a success
On Feb. 8-10, the McAuley School of Nursing hosted the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for a successful three-day re-accreditation visit. All four major standards were met for the Baccalaureate and Master's programs. The review committee will meet in July, with final findings to be released in October.

Check the CHP web site for the latest information on MSON's new Doctorate of Nursing Practice program.

Nurse Anesthesia

Dosch earns Ph.D.
Mike Dosch, associate professor and chair of Nurse Anesthesia, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and earned his Ph.D. degree this winter from Wayne State University's College of Education. His research focused on computer-based testing. Mike also serves as an on-site reviewer for the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, chairing teams that have visited three universities in the last 12 months.

Certification first-attempt pass rate above average
The December 2009 Nurse Anesthesia graduates have successfully taken their board examinations (the National Certification Examination for Nurse Anesthetists). In the last five years, students' first-attempt pass rate — 94.6% — has been well above the national average of 89.9%.

Faculty activities
Petra Hurt MS CRNA serves as an active reviewer for the Council on Accreditation. In addition, she serves as a member of the Board of Visitors (an advisory council) for the School of Nursing at Oakland University, her undergraduate alma mater.
Greg Bozimowski MS CRNA chairs the Publications Committee of the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and edits its newsletter, The Connector. Bozimowski has also been very active with the CHP Honor Council, and the UDM Honorary Degree advisory panel.
 Andrea Teitel MS CRNA has agreed to chair the Government Relations Committee of the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists for next year. This reflects her strong interest and dedication to her profession.

NA Information sessions
Nurse Anesthesia program information sessions are held the third Monday of every month (except November and December) at 4:30 p.m. Faculty members give a short presentation and faculty and students take questions. An RSVP is not necessary. Visit the schedule page for the most current information, including location and time updates.

Physician Assistant

PA program top-ranked in Michigan
University of Detroit Mercy's Physician Assistant program was recently ranked as the top program in the state of Michigan by U.S.News and World Report, ahead of Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Wayne State University and Western Michigan University.

UDM PA student is 2010 Recipient of the Captain Sean P. Grimes Memorial Scholarship
Maureen Bringhurst, PA Class of 2012, has received the Captain Sean P. Grimes Memorial Scholarship for 2010. The scholarship is offered by Capt. Grimes' family and the Society of Army Physician Assistants in conjunction with the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). The award is offered to an active duty or veteran PA Student in memory of Capt. Grimes, an Army PA killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in March 2005.

Three UDM PA students receive 2010 Physician Assistant Foundation scholarships
Maureen Bringhurst, Jibiao Huang and Moheen Suna-Sitto, physician assistant (PA) students enrolled at University of Detroit Mercy, each have been awarded a 2010 Physician Assistant Foundation scholarship based upon his or her outstanding academic achievement and commitment to community service and quality health care.

The PA Foundation develops and allocates resources that empower the physician assistant profession to impact the health and wellness of the communities it serves. It provides grants and scholarships to PAs and PA students who bring much-needed health care to underserved and underprivileged communities in the U.S. and around the world.

"PA Foundation scholarships have provided over $2.4 million to more than 1,200 deserving PA students, and this year singled out 77 deserving recipients. By supporting the Annual Student Scholarship Program, we are supporting the next generation of physician assistants. This is a career path that shows increased trends in growth, salary and job security," says PA Foundation President Agnes Compagnone, RPA-C.

Scholarships and grants are made available through the generosity of individual contributions, corporate support and various constituent organizations. For more information about the PA Foundation, visit the organization's web site.

PA Program information meetings
Meet with program faculty and learn more about the program in person. Plan to attend one of our information meetings held the third Monday evening in June, July and August in the Health Professions facility, Room 207 at 5:30 p.m.

Join us on Facebook
Visit the UDM Physician Assistant Program page on Facebook.