New Name, Broader Scope for College of Nursing and Health Care Professions

By Bob Romantic
GCU News Bureau

Health care education is now one big happy family at GCU.

In an effort to better align itself with the evolving health care industry, the College of Nursing has changed its name to the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions.

The college still offers the full spectrum of nursing programs, but will now include educational offerings in health care administration, health sciences, athletic training and other areas of specialization.

The name change affects about 1,800 students in those fields, which previously fell under the College of Arts and Sciences. But Dr. Anne McNamara, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, stressed that the transition will be seamless. Students will remain in their current course of study and still work with the same academic and financial counselors.

“Students will still continue their current course toward graduation,” McNamara said. “This structural change and naming change simply recognizes the shift in the market, helps us better address the changing roles within the health care industry and allows us to better utilize the resources of the University.”

The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions will now include these health care programs:

As part of the restructuring, Maria Quimba has been named an associate dean of CONHCP and will oversee some of the programs making the transition.

She said the changes in the college make sense because they align students in all health care fields under the same umbrella.

“These folks primarily work in the field as health care providers. They’re people like medical technicians, phlebotomy techs, EMTs, physical therapists, occupational therapists.… We all work together as an interdisciplinary (unit) to affect changes in health care and improve patient care.”

Contact Bob Romantic at 639.7611 or [email protected].