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By Debbie Goldstein

The GW Health Sciences Programs have long been at the forefront of one of the fastest growing trends in education. Cutting-edge programs, expert faculty, and bright, dedicated students combine to make a GW Health Sciences Distance Education an invaluable commodity in today’s competitive healthcare market.

As technological advances have enabled a more global view of the world, so have they given rise to opportunities that no one could have imagined only a few decades ago. The Internet alone has changed how people communicate, do business, conduct research and even learn.

“It has long been the philosophy at GW that geography shouldn’t keep someone from getting a quality education,” says Jean Johnson, PhD, FAAN, senior associate dean, Health Sciences Programs. To this end, the Health Sciences Programs pioneered distance learning, ensuring that students seeking a comprehensive, quality health sciences education from GW have no geographic barriers.

“GW Health Sciences has long been committed to building career pathways for those in health professions, regardless of their previous experience,” says Dr. Johnson. “Students can enter the Health Sciences distance education programs with a certificate in a clinical field and progress to a bachelor’s, master’s and even doctoral degree.”

One of the first accredited institutions to offer health sciences courses through distance education (DE), GW has built a reputation for a rigorous academic curriculum delivered online. The convenience and flexibility of web-based learning makes it possible for students to study at GW from virtually anywhere in the world. And, for many, on-line learning more effectively caters to the realities and philosophy of adult learning. Whether business travel or professional and family obligations keep students from attending weekly classes on campus, or they live and work overseas, the GW Health Sciences Programs puts education at anyone’s fingertips.

“What makes GW’s distance education courses unique is that they are taught by the same high-caliber faculty experts that teach in the on-campus programs,” Dr. Johnson explains. The absence of face-to-face class time is replaced by thought-provoking interactions between the students themselves and between the students and the faculty. The on-line format provides unique opportunities for students to create learning communities and exchange ideas and insights through discussion threads and group projects. And, in the era of electronic communication, some students feel that they establish closer bonds with their fellow classmates within on-line learning than they would if they had met in traditional classroom environments.

“Just because students do not attend classes on campus does not mean that their educational experience is compromised,” says Dr. Johnson. “We ensure that practical training, internships and community service are integral parts of the DE programs as well.” While the distance education format allows students to be thousands of miles from the traditional classroom, the academic rigor and expectations are just as demanding as the traditional on-campus approach. Students and faculty engage in discourse analyzing the subject matter from varying points of view—just as is the case in traditional classroom discussion—drawing from a diverse student and faculty population often located hundreds of miles apart.

“I had been searching for some time to find the right graduate program,” says Lauren Kelton, a student with the End-of-Life Care Nursing program. “For me, GW’s program was exactly the right combination of the flexibility of distance learning and the connectedness of onsite leadership and seminars, supportive professors and camaraderie with students from across the country. I never feel like a number or feel lost in the shuffle—I am a valued member of the GW community.”

Serving Our Servicepeople

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences first collaborated with the U.S. Navy in the mid-1970s to offer degree programs, through contracts, in a variety of Health Sciences disciplines, ultimately leading to associate, bachelor’s and master’s level degrees. Health Sciences has continued to expand its degree offerings through distance learning, allowing individuals to continue to complete academic degrees while serving globally.

“Thousands of military personnel have participated in these programs over the years and successfully completed one or more degrees,” says Sylvia Silver, DA, associate dean for Health Sciences and professor of Pathology.

“With the Navy’s Medical Laboratory Technique (MLT) program, I was afforded the opportunity to complete an undergraduate degree at GW,” says LTJG Ressurreccion J. Macaspac, MPH, MSC, USNR, Class of 2000. “In turn, my Clinical Management and Leadership degree provided the basics and proved to be instrumental in attaining my goal of completing my Master of Public Health Degree, with a concentration in Health Services Administration, which I earned in 2003 from San Diego State University.”

“The distance learning coursework allowed me the flexibility to be able to complete my clinical rotations and research at the same time as taking classes,” says Angela M. Gambone Hudson, from the Class of 2001, “I was lucky enough to be able to attend GW University while in the U.S. Air Force. What an opportunity it was to be able to get a degree through such an outstanding and well-respected university. My education at GW provided me the knowledge and experience I needed to be a key member in the Armed Forces Blood Program, providing lifesaving blood when and wherever it is needed.”