RamaOnHealthcare November 16, 2022
Ahead of the Curve – Addressing Rapid Healthcare Transformation within Higher Education
Today, RamaOnHealthcare talks with Guy M. Nehrenz, Sr., EdD, MA, RRT, the Interim Dean and Professor of the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Dr. Nehrenz has been in clinical health care, health care administration and education for over 40 years. In 2002, he was the founding Director of the Doctor of Health Science program in the former College of Allied Health at NSU. He was also Senior Associate Dean for Osteopathic Medicine at NSU. He has assisted in creating higher education programs in prosthetic urology, nursing, respiratory therapy, anesthesia, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, health science, and more.
Dr. Guy M. Nehrenz – Interim Dean and Professor
RamaOnHealthcare (ROH): Please tell us about your Doctoral program designed for current Master’s Degree healthcare practitioners.
Dr. Guy M. Nehrenz (GN): When we started the Doctor of Health Science program at NSU, it was the country’s first regionally accredited online DHSc. The purpose was initially to provide an interdisciplinary program for all master’s level health care practitioners. Today, it also serves healthcare administrators. Of our hundreds of graduates, many became faculty, provosts, deans, CEOs of hospitals, heads of public health agencies, and others were military officers advancing their careers.
ROH: What are the most significant challenges within Healthcare Higher Education in healthcare today?
GN: I believe healthcare higher education has become a shopper’s market. I don’t mean that in a derogatory manner. Since the pandemic, those seeking a higher degree are looking for affordable and convenient education of high quality. For instance, our goal with the Doctor of Health Science program was to serve practitioners who were attending on the GI Bill. We kept the cost at or below what was allowed. This was also a benefit to those who were not military since the price was the same—and being online allowed us to recruit some of the best and brightest practitioner faculty across the country. And after all these years, many are still teaching.
…those seeking a higher degree are looking for affordable and convenient education of high quality.
ROH: How do you prepare students to work within the rapidly changing technical environment and transformation within healthcare today?
GN: It is the essential mission of NSU to provide graduates who are prepared to manage, integrate, apply, and adapt to the rapid change in quality healthcare today and are also valued for their depth and breadth of knowledge. Therefore, at NSU, simulation and interprofessional education are high on the list of curriculum delivery.
Hi-tech simulation has become the standard – not an option. Each professional healthcare program at NSU has simulators. We also employ a simulation director and an inter-professional education executive director.
Hi-tech simulation has become the standard – not an option.
However, NSU is also taking the next step. The university is currently in the pre-construction phase of a multimillion-dollar, 100,000-square-foot simulation center for training, research, and patient care. This will bring multiple professions and simulations together in the same space. For our regional campuses, the simulation center will virtually bring together students on the Fort Lauderdale campus with those at our regional campuses using oculus, holograms, and computer-based simulation platforms.
…the simulation center will virtually bring together students on the Fort Lauderdale campus with those at our regional campuses using oculus, holograms, and computer-based simulation platforms.
ROH: Tell us about your Innovation Center and how your organization prepares Learners for the future.
GN: At NSU, we recognize the need for Innovation in business, education, and healthcare. To quote our NSU website, the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation is a public-private partnership between Nova Southeastern University and Broward County, acting as an economic and education development engine linking the South Florida innovation ecosystem. This Center supports the Founder’s Journey from the birth of an idea through the successful exit or global expansion, providing programs, events, and wraparound services to entrepreneurs and early-stage startups for the buildout and scaleup of their business.
…we recognize the need for Innovation in business, education, and healthcare.
The Levan Center’s 54,000-square-foot facility offers the following:
- Incubator and accelerator programs
- Co-working and meeting space
- Technology certification programs
- Specialized workshops, seminars, and short courses
- Professional networking and social events
ROH: How do you keep current with healthcare across diverse settings, SDOH, regulatory, etc., and integrate that promptly into your curriculum?
GN: Our faculty are encouraged to be advocates for their profession and maintain ties within their associations, professional organizations, and accrediting bodies to maintain currency with the transformation and innovation in healthcare. I also stress the importance of being a site visitor, a commissioner, or an officer in a national association. This promotes thought and action regarding the challenges and solutions within healthcare today.
To enhance and assure quality as well as the currency of content, the curriculum of each program is reviewed at the department level. The college-wide curriculum committee then reviews proposed changes. This committee consists of individuals from the multiple professions in our college. This cross-pollination of ideas and professional experience promotes an inter-professional view of any proposed curriculum change. This method has served the college well for years.
We also provide and organize mission trips to communities in need of medical assistance, both foreign and domestic, for students and faculty of all professions to experience a diversity of community needs. Also, our clinicians and students are involved in our audiology, physical and occupational therapy, and speech therapy clinics. We also help with community programs such as health fairs, autism research, Special Olympics, and professional sports athletic assessments.
ROH: Where or how do certificate programs fit into healthcare careers today?
GN: Many certificate programs have become essential to healthcare education and are available at NSU, specifically within our college. This additional training and education allow healthcare practitioners to expand their knowledge beyond the clinical aspects. For example, we created a certificate in our online Master of Health Science program to educate students in Healthcare Informatics and Lean Six Sigma yellow belt training. Certificate programs benefit clinicians by expanding their knowledge in health law, global health, technology, informatics, and business, to name a few.
Many certificate programs have become essential to healthcare education….
ROH: Tell us about your involvement with The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice and its global impact.
GN: In 2002, Dr. Rick Davis, Dr. Steve Cohen, and I decided to develop a journal to help first-time authors. The intent was to teach our students and faculty how to publish. I was the managing editor and web designer for the journal in the early days. We eventually transformed my role to editor-in-chief after the editorial board grew to approximately 15 associate editors and over 250 reviewers. In 2016, I turned the journal over to Dr. Cheryl Hill, a professor in our physical therapy department. Our seemingly small journal to teach authors to publish became a global allied health journal for authors at all levels and now publishes over 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts per quarter and is read in over 120 countries. See the journal here https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/
ROH: What advice do you have for those seeking an advanced degree in healthcare today?
GN: Speaking with graduates and current students in the program you are considering is essential. Discuss the time commitment, the technology needed, and, for graduates, how the degree played a role in furthering their career. See more here – College of Health Care Sciences
About Guy M. Nehrenz
Early in his career, he was a Trauma Flight Therapist and flew 1600 patient flights. He founded the first full-time flight respiratory therapy department in the country at AirEvac in Phoenix, Arizona, and was involved in developing the first DOT grant-funded and approved training program in flight medicine. He has an extensive background in research and administration and has held several grants in areas such as underserved population medicine, surgical resident training, and urology. Dr. Nehrenz is an elected lifetime Associate Member of Sigma XI Scientific Research Society in health science, research, and education and an Alpha Eta Honor Society member.