College of Health Enrichment Program

The College of Health (COH) enrichment program incorporates three competency areas: Belonging in Practice: Caring for All; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and Resiliency. Students engage in competency training in each of these three areas for 15 hours each, incorporated throughout courses within a program. Some programs may require the content for each enrichment to be scaffolded over a three year period, with five hours of content incorporated in the sophomore, junior, and senior year (15 hours total).

Majors and minors that require this program for degree completion will specify this in their program requirements as published in this Bulletin.

Belonging in Practice: Caring for All

The curriculum encompasses various interactive and reflective components, including specialized training sessions, film screenings, panel discussions, community visits, and academic readings. These elements are carefully selected to address different facets of diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as implicit bias, LGBTQ+ healthcare support, racial inequities in healthcare, and the challenges faced by marginalized communities.

This College of Health Belonging in Practice: Caring for All course aims to equip students with the necessary tools to be proficient and compassionate caregivers in a diverse society, ensuring that they can meet the complex needs of all patients with equity and empathy.

Belonging in Practice: Caring for All Learning Objectives 

Upon completing the Belonging in Practice: Caring for All content, students are expected to:

1. Understand and Address Implicit Biases: Recognize personal and systemic biases and their impacts on healthcare delivery.

2. Advocate for Equity and Inclusion: Develop skills to advocate for and implement inclusive practices in healthcare settings.

3. Enhance Cultural Competency: Gain insights into the healthcare needs of diverse populations, particularly the LGBTQ+ community and racial minorities.

4. Engage with Marginalized Communities: Learn directly from community-based experiences to better understand the challenges and healthcare needs of marginalized groups.

5. Reflect and Act on DEIB Principles: Use reflection as a tool for continuous learning and improvement in personal and professional contexts.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Structured around hands-on challenges, use of modern technology such as AI, and targeted problem-solving for specific populations, the program equips students with the necessary tools to think creatively and act decisively in entrepreneurial roles within the healthcare sector.

This program integrates practical entrepreneurial experiences with theoretical knowledge to prepare students to become innovative thinkers and leaders in the healthcare industry. It aims to empower them with the skills needed to initiate, develop, and implement impactful healthcare solutions, ensuring they are well-prepared to face the challenges of modern healthcare environments.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Learning Objectives

At the end of the program, students will be able to master:

1. Problem Solving for Special Populations: Develop targeted solutions for specific groups such as women, children, and hospital care patients, understanding their unique needs and challenges.

2. Innovative Thinking: Cultivate the ability to be curious and think creatively to generate novel solutions to healthcare problems.

3. Applying Technology Ethically: Understand and implement the appropriate and ethical use of technologies such as AI in healthcare solutions.

4. Communication of Innovation Skills: Learn how to effectively communicate and tell the story of an innovation, making it compelling to stakeholders.

5. Product Development and Entrepreneurial Skills: Gain practical experience in prototyping, advising and testing healthcare innovations and acquire the basic skills in managing innovative projects in healthcare.

Resilience

The program includes instruction in skills for self-care, emotional awareness, self-regulation, positive mindsets (such as optimism and reframing), flexibility, relationships, social support, and managing difficult experiences. Students are supported to develop habits of self-care, connection, and reflection. They practice skills in clinicals or other practice settings and determine which skills work best in specific situations.

Through this program, students increase their ability to reflect on their own thoughts and feelings, develop coping skills and self-care habits that are sustained, and increase their self-efficacy (confidence and capability) to manage difficult experiences and prevent burnout. 

Resilience Learning Objectives

At the end of the program, students will be able to:

1. Evaluate and enhance own self-efficacy or confidence and ability to manage difficult situations well.

2. Select and use positive mindsets (such as optimism, outlook of possibility, motivation, hope, perseverance) to maintain a proactive and effective response to changing and difficult situations.

3. Identify and manage own emotions and needs within different clinical settings (e.g., emotional intelligence).

4. Design, implement, and revise self-care plans and habits to maintain holistic well-being.

Program Requirements

The enrichment program is either administered incrementally, by topic, over three years (e.g. 2000- to 4000- level courses) or in one semester, by topic (e.g. 1000-level courses).