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Pathway to Health Professions: Health Sciences

The College of Nursing and Health Professions’ Pathway to Health Professions program provides a four-year course of study, leading to the B.S. degree, for students who wish to study toward health professions careers. Health sciences and clinical sciences courses are combined with mathematics, humanities, and social sciences electives into a fully integrated curriculum that prepares students for the pursuit of health professions careers in the fields of nursing, cardiovascular perfusion, physician assistant studies, exercise physiology, cardiac rehabilitation therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.

Courses in clinical research (protocol design, research methods, data management, and governmental and regulatory issues) are also included in the curriculum. These courses are designed to give students a strong foundation in
clinical research and to prepare them for possible employment in clinical research settings.The clinical research content of the curriculum is also very appropriate for the preparation of students for post-baccalaureate and graduate studies in the health professions.

Co-op Opportunities
Drexel University has long been known for its co-operative education programs, through which students mix periods of full-time, career related employment with their studies. Co-op employment is an important part of the Behavioral Health Counseling curriculum. Co-operative employment experiences are directed toward activities that will expose students to the varied work environments of behavioral health professionals. These work settings provide students with the opportunity to observe mental health and addictions professionals in action, while assessing their own potentials and individualized interests for a career in behavioral health. The Drexel Co-op is based on options for paid employment selected from among a variety of clinical behavioral health settings where positions consistent with the interests, abilities, and aptitudes of
the students have been identified. A small percentage of students accept non-paid co-ops.

After Graduation
Some graduates of the Pathway to Health Professions program will choose to pursue employment opportunities in clinical research settings, and some will choose to continue their education by enrolling in post-baccalaureate and graduate programs leading to a variety of health professions careers.

Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Pathway to Health Professions program may choose to enter the workforce in the field of clinical research. Clinical research is a rapidly expanding enterprise. There is a great need for trained individuals to fill positions on clinical research teams that are performing the research necessary to obtain FDA approval of new drugs, new medical devices, and new medical procedures. Clinical research is performed in clinics, hospital wards, pharmaceutical
companies, medical device firms, doctors’ offices, operating rooms, and other health care settings. In those settings, graduates of the program can fill positions in which they are responsible for interacting with physicians whose patients are participating in the research study, interviewing participants, taking medical histories, obtaining informed consent, collecting, entering and compiling data, and manipulating data for publication of research results. These activities
require individuals with advanced training in the policies and procedures of clinical research. Graduates of the program will have that knowledge, and they will understand the procedures for designing and implementing clinical research protocols and the governmental regulations governing clinical research projects.

Post-baccalaureate and Graduate Studies
The curriculum of the Pathway to Health Professions program is designed to provide a strong foundation for those students who will proceed after graduation to post-baccalaureate and graduate programs in the health professions.The curriculum enables students to fulfill all of the prerequisites for these post-baccalaureate and graduate programs.The co-op experiences that students of the program undertake will serve to fulfill the requirement of the post baccalaureate and graduate programs that their applicants have personal exposure to the profession before they apply.

The Pathway to Health Professions program serves as a feeder program for the Second Degree Fast-Track Nursing program, the Cardiovascular Perfusion program, the Physician Assistant Studies program, and the Doctor of Physical Therapy program of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Graduates of the Pathway to Health Professions program may also continue their education in the biomedical graduate programs of the Drexel University College of Medicine (such as the M.S. in Clinical Research and M.S. in Pathologist’s Assistant programs).

For more information, visit the Pathway to Health Professions Program page at the College of Nursing and Health Professions web site.