A “Slightly New Name” for an Energetic Organization
It took a two-day strategic planning session, followed by committee and board discussions, and a minimum of six weeks of conference calls, to work through the list of possible name changes for the National Consortium on Health Science and Technology Education (NCHSTE)! In January 2009 at the NCHSTE annual meeting, the board voted to drop “and” from the consortium’s official name. In April 2009, the culminating event occurred with a unanimous electronic vote of the board membership to change the name of this organization to the National Consortium for Health Science Education (NCHSE).
In 1991, when the consortium was organized “technology” was certainly the “buzz” word. At that time, the organization believed it was necessary to include “technology” in its name as a way of emphasizing the integration of technology in healthcare. In today’s world, technology is a part of almost everything people do in the workplace and in their personal lives. Technology is a large player in the majority of healthcare careers and beyond. As a result of the widespread use of technology, the organization agreed that technology was no longer needed in its name to define their mission and purpose.
Now the National Consortium for Health Science Education is ready to promote this new name to their customers. E-announcements have been sent, the logo has been updated, website updates will occur, and a promotional banner for use at meetings and conferences has been ordered. The new name reflects the innovative and dynamic qualities of an organization poised for growth.
Watch for continued website updates and marketing materials with the new name. As of June 15, 2009, the new web address will be www.healthscienceconsortium.org. Customers accessing the website using www.nchste.org will automatically be converted to the new domain name.
A Progress Report on the National Healthcare Foundation Skills Assessment
Thank you to the thousands of schools and students across the nation who participated in the assessment program. Through March 2009, 5,983 total tests have been administered. (Pre- and post-; post tests are approximately 4,000 of that total.) Practice tests administered: 778. Sample tests administered: 217.
Twenty participating states include
Multiple uses for National Healthcare Foundation Skills/Certificate program have been reported:
- Using assessment data to make decisions
- Meeting the technical skill attainment requirement in the new Perkins legislation
- Using for student recognition and scholarship consideration
- Serving as special consideration for entrance into other health science programs and employment
- Outlining program development/improvement and curriculum delivery
- Basing student achievement on content standards
- Guiding strategic planning for long-term health science program success through the analysis of effective and efficient use of resources
- Planning professional development for health science education teachers
For more information visit www.okcareertech.org/testing/nchste.htm
Health Science Curriculum Conference
Mark your calendars!
Conference 2010
October 19 - 22, 2010
Minneapolis, MN
2008 Conference Presentation powerpoints and handouts
Interdisciplinary, Integrated Curriculum
The National Consortium on Health Science and Technology Education and ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career have collaborated to develop10 Interdisciplinary, integrated units of instruction based on healthcare issues, practices and procedures that were developed and beta tested by academic and health science teacher teams in nine states. The Goals of this project are to: Improve academic achievement through authentic project-based learning related to healthcare issues, practices and procedures, Introduce students to the variety of healthcare career options and opportunities available and to increase the number of students interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. For more information you can contact cstacy@mhc.org or www.ConnectEdCalifornia.org