The Role of Education in Maintaining a Healthy Society
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0092-8615/98 Copyright 0 1998 Drug Information Association Inc.
THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN MAINTAINING A HEALTHY SOCIETY MADELEINE WINGADLER,PHD President, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Higher education supports four key goals in maintaining a healthy society: preparing outstanding healthcare professionals, creating educated healthcare consumers, ensuring comprehensive research in the area of women’s health, and fostering the prevention of disease. This paper highlights how these goals are achieved by using West Chester University as an example. Key Words: Higher education; Women’s health; West Chester University
HIGHER EDUCATION PLAYS a pivotal role in promoting and maintaining a healthy population. This paper focuses on classroom and out-of-classroom programs that center on women’s health, using those at West Chester University as examples. These can serve to highlight the power of higher education to support four key goals: 1. To prepare outstanding healthcare professionals, 2. To create educated healthcare consumers, 3. To ensure comprehensive research in the area of women’s health, and 4. To foster the prevention of disease.
PREPARING OUTSTANDING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS Through their health-related curricula, colleges and universities such as West Chester University develop well-qualified graduates for the healthcare professions. The DepartPresented at the DIA “Second Annual Symposium on Osteoporosis Education,” April 14. 1997, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reprint address: Madeleine Wing Adler. Office of The President, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383.
ment of Health, in the School of Health Sciences, provides undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as health education, public health, and health services administration. The distinguished Pre-Medical Program, which includes a semester-longjunioryear internship at a medical school or research institute, prepares students for medical or graduate school. Graduates of the program who meet certain requirements are guaranteed acceptance into the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Penn State College of Medicine, and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Other health-related curricula include nursing, sports medicine, kinesiology, psychology, communicative disorders, medical technology, molecular biology, and microbiology. While many graduates go on to graduate schools, many others find meaningful work upon graduation. Those students who will be working with patients are prepared to give client-centered care that treats each person with respect. The nursing program’s statement of philosophy gives a good overview of the kind of partnership that students are taught to form with clients. The statement reads in part: “The faculty’s major frame of reference is the holistic person. . . . Mutual
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Madeleine Wing Adler
goals established by the nurse and client promote mobility toward change in the direction of a higher level of
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