Student accomplishments this spring in the College of Health Sciences have blossomed into a bountiful harvest. Compliments from our successful students are always appreciated. But receiving compliments for reaching out to students when they struggle and ultimately are not successful makes their kind words even more meaningful. Here’s a sample of the comments that both successful and unsuccessful students shared with me:

• Courtney Abell, BAS-Health Services Administration: “Dr. (Mary) Haumschild… I really enjoy the healthcare field and find myself thinking about your course often. I really enjoyed the experience and am grateful for the opportunity I had to learn and grow under you. Healthcare is such a great atmosphere and I truly believe I am helping people. The best part of my job is the feeling of making a difference.”
• April Feldbruegge, BAS-Health Services Administration: “There is so much I can say about this course (with Dr. Teri Trede), I have endless praise…I had great discussions with my fellow classmates and read great discussions… and a truly amazing instructor who was highly involved and very helpful. The group project was absolutely amazing, in my opinion it was the best assignment in this class…. I also have to say that what I have learned throughout this course is and will continue to be so helpful and so important in the field of work I am in.”
• Rashidat Majekodunmi and Thomas McClanahan, BAS-Health Services Administration, were accepted into the Exploratory Lab Boot Camp Program, a STEM-focused program for college juniors and seniors to provide a real-time business integration experience to augment traditional classroom curriculum. Rashidat and Tom shared this amazing experience and expressed their sincere appreciation to the instructors for encouraging them and accommodating course deadlines.
• Thomas McClanahan, BAS-Health Services Administration sent Dr. Haumschild an update about his capstone project focusing on quality scores and star ratings, which significantly influences reimbursement via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Systems (HCAHPS; also known as HCAPS) through CMS (Medicare). Tom’s facility is very pleased with his outcomes, and have asked him to champion the same project at the building where he currently works after his capstone project is completed. He also received a call from the corporate office about how pleased they are with his SPC project. Glowing comments have been posted on public sites such as citysearch.com , www.wellness.com , www.yelp.com , www.google.com , www.insiderpages.com , and www.merchantcircle.com .
• Margie Taylor, BAS-Health Services Administration graduate:  “Dr. (Wendy) Shellhorn, currently I am manager of a physician office, so these classes for the HSA degree have been very helpful and specific to my career.  When I came to this office, the first patient satisfaction survey we received had the worst scores ever seen. Now, two years later, we have extremely high scores in every aspect of patient satisfaction … Their second location has struggled for a long time … and have promoted me to be manager over both offices … Thanks to my HSA degree from SPC, I am qualified for the position of managing two offices.  I am excited to use the skills and knowledge that the program has given me to make a difference in the lives of our patients.”
• Heriberto Valle, new AS-Health Sciences program, thanked adjunct instructor Jill Moore for her quick reply when he was having a technical problem. To her, he wrote, “I want you to know that you have been a great instructor to have and I hope I can have you as my instructor again in the future. I thank you for demonstrating that you are interested in our success…. It’s great to have instructors that are helpful, professional, flexible to work with students and caring. And of course instructors who are available when you need them, as you have been.”
• Nibale Harb, BAS-Health Services Administration graduate, sent a delightful update to Dr. Shellhorn. Nibale is enrolled in the graduate program at Valparaiso University in Indiana. She wrote that “having been through the structured and organized HSA program is making my (graduate) classes seem effortless. Learning to work with the HSA teams is currently helping me guide the current group I collaborate with in my class … I rate myself as a good writer now and my classmates want me to be the leader in the project whenever writing is involved. If you were to ask me to do that before going through the HSA program, I would have said, NO WAY…. you truly are teaching future leaders and helping them gain more knowledge about healthcare management.”
• Robert Vigre, BAS-Health Services Administration, was recently featured in an SPC news story as one of eight SPC students who took part in the inaugural Tampa Bay Technology Forum Exploratory Labs, an innovative training solution held in March that addressed the needs of companies in the Tampa Bay area. The curriculum covered topics like business planning, integrated marketing, emotional intelligence, software licensing, e-commerce, data centers and Agile project management methodologies, among others. Robert is quoted at the end of the article about the connection between curriculum and workplace.
• Valencia Nettles and Gene Macogay, BAS-Health Services Administration;  Capstone mentor Dharamraj was so impressed with Valencia that she described her as exemplary and professional. Valencia’s project demonstrated timeliness and quality, which will make the educational material she created valuable for “years to come.” Her mentor thanked us for the opportunity to have a capstone student and ended by saying “What a pleasure to work with such bright students. Their contributions are invaluable to our agency!”
  Similarly, Gene Macogay’s capstone mentor found the experience mutually beneficial. Gene’s SWOT analysis helped the mentor better understand where opportunities for improvement currently exist. The mentor said, “To have it formally done and written on paper really solidified some focus areas for us as a department.”
• Deborah Morris and Margie Taylor, BAS-Health Services Administration, received promotions prior to graduation. Deborah wrote in her summary that the capstone experience gave her more confidence through valuable information from her mentor on to how to communicate more effectively. The student already started her new position as a supervisor for the VA Dental Hygiene Department. She feels the HSA program has given her “more direction as to how to be an effective manager … and I have gained immense management knowledge”. Margie echoed these sentiments, and also wrote that she felt humbled that her employer were so confident in her ability that Margie now manages a physician office in two locations, and feels the program has prepared her well to cover two different environments.
• Jessica Raymond and Jennifer DeStefano, BAS-Health Services Administration; Jessica Raymond was accepted to serve on the Colgate Oral Health Advisory (COHA) board, which she described as an amazing opportunity. Her dental office will be among the first to try new products, and she will have input on marketing and design of the products. Needless to say, Jessica is very excited. Graduating student Jennifer DeStefano has accepted a clinical adjunct dental hygiene teaching position at the institution where she did her capstone experience.
• BAS-Health Services Administration; Several students sent messages to their instructors thanking them for reaching out, even though they were not successful.  One student she “loves SPC…( because she is) more than just a number!” Another student started his message by saying “I am also using this opportunity to thank you for all of you help and support.”, and ended by saying “Thanks once again, from the bottom of my heart, for everything that you have done for us!” And a third student said although “I was not able to pull it together for this class, I want you to know that I am fully prepared to take this course again (I am signed up for your Fall class) and you will see a completely different student at that time…..I (want) to show you the gratitude that I have for your concern regarding my success there at SPC. I am so thankful to be at an institution that values my success”.

Many activities this spring also fostered community service and out-of-class engagement, which supports student success:

• Eight students shared their projects with posters, examples of their creations and handouts in the recent College of Health Sciences (COHS) Capstone Showcase.
• We also held other activities such as program club meetings for Dental Hygiene and Radiology, the Radiology family and affiliate picnic, the COHS student/faculty/staff networking picnic, HEC lunch and learns and HEC lobby events.

Kudos to our amazing students and wonderful faculty.
Dean, College of Health Sciences, Rebecca Ludwig