New and exciting things are happening at Bellin College: new program offerings, courses, and collaborative partnerships to benefit current and future students for a career in nursing or medical imaging.
On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, Bellin College received accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to offer Diagnostic Medical Sonography beginning in fall 2016 as a new bachelor’s degree program. The diagnostic medical sonographer is an essential, highly skilled member of the healthcare team dedicated to preserving patients’ health by helping to diagnose injury and disease. The Bellin program will provide excellent opportunities, resources, and state of the art facilities to enhance students’ academic and clinical experience. Students will gain clinical, academic, and laboratory training in a small class setting. Students will graduate with a bachelor of science in diagnostic medical sonography after three consecutive years and be eligible to take the American Registry Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) certification examinations in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Abdomen, Vascular, or Sonography Principles and Instrumentation. Bellin College also received approval from its accreditor, the HLC, to offer distance education courses for their RN to BSN program online.
In addition to these new opportunities, Bellin College continues to offer inter-professional education with the Medical College of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The third of four such inter-professional education events was held at Bellin College on Tuesday, February 16. Historically, nurses, nurse practitioners, radiology technologists, and physicians have been educated separately from each other and do not fully understand one another’s roles.
Inter-professional education prepares students to understand the value of teamwork and collegiality among professionals. “It has been a very exciting year for Bellin College. Being able to offer new programs, new simulated spaces, and new initiatives will provide students with hands-on learning to better prepare them for the future of healthcare,” said Dr. Connie Boerst, President and CEO at Bellin College.