The health care professions offer individuals highly rewarding
careers involved with saving lives and improving the
quality of life for many other people. All the forecasts
are that the demand for health care professionals
will continue to increase and that the number of trained
professionals will not keep pace with demand, e.g.
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a nationwide
46% increase nationwide and a 53% increase in Pennsylvania
in the need for Respiratory Therapists between 1998
and 2008. Yet, Respiratory Therapy programs are unable
to keep pace with that increase.
Millersville University has a long tradition of preparing
students for careers involving health care. We offer
a variety of programs in Allied Health (Medical Technology,
Nuclear Medicine Technology, and Respiratory Therapy)
as well as courses of study preparing students for
professional school (allopathic medicine (MD), osteopathic
medicine (DO), optometry, podiatry, dental, and veterinary
medicine).
Our curricula in Allied Health are designed to be rigorous
and challenging, to provide both depth of knowledge
in a specialized area of biology in preparation for
a career in health care as well a solid, broad background
in the breadth of biology and the physical sciences.
In a society that is increasing dependent upon technology
it is very important that all biologists develop technological
competency. We strive to help our allied health students
develop the necessary computer, analytic, and contemporary
experimental skills to be competitive in today's marketplace.
We recognize that health care professionals must be concerned
with ethical and societal issues as well as more purely
scientific considerations. Thus, our programs combine
rigorous training in science with a strong background
in the liberal arts. Our goal is to prepare our students
to meet the career challenges of today’s world
and to be ready for the unknown challenges of the
future. Thus we strongly believe that the best training
for the future is to become a lifelong learner. The
Biology faculty at Millersville is a group of such
learners who attempt to teach students how to become
critical thinkers. We help our students learn to write
and speak well and to become proficient in analyzing
and solving problems as well as develop the technical
expertise they need to become sources of knowledge
and skill wanted by employers and society. We attempt
to help our students develop their intellectual skills
to their full potential.
The Allied Health Programs at Millersville normally follow
a 3-plus-1 pattern: students spend three years on
campus completing general education, math and science
requirements, followed by clinical education in a
hospital-based program. For MU students interning
at local hospitals, University housing is available.
The clinical programs provide classroom, laboratory
and patient experiences under the supervision of medical
instructors. All three programs are approved by the
American Medical Association, and our graduates are
eligible to sit for the appropriate national certification
exam. The number of Millersville University graduates
that pass these exams approaches 100 percent. Because
of the high demand for supervisory personal in these
fields the demand for trained persons with Bachelor’s
degrees remains high. The BS degree also affords MU
graduates many options for postgraduate study and
thus many opportunities for career advancement. Some
of our graduates have continued their health-oriented
education in medical school and optometry school.
Success of our graduates:
Our graduates are extremely successful in a wide variety
of areas in biology. Recent polls indicate that over
90% of those seeking employment in biology find it
after graduation. Our graduates in the Allied Health
Programs are in great demand by employers. For example,
a graduating senior in the Respiratory Therapy Program
typically receives 2-5 job offers. Recently many of
these students also have been offered “signing
bonuses” to agree to work for a specific health
care provider. The opportunities for employment are
great in the other Allied Health areas as well.
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