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Spring 2007
Slade Griffiths, Department Chair
Janet Bogle, Nursing Coordinator
Cindy Branscum, Lead MICT Instructor
Chris Cannon, Lead MICT Instructor
Joyce Holloway, Coordinator of Support Services
Bruce Irwin, AIT Coordinator
620.229.5984
620.229.5982
620.229.5986
620.229.5985
620.229-5981
800.296.3633
griffiths@cowley.edu
boglej@cowley.edu
branscum@cowley.edu
cannon@cowley.edu
holloway@cowley.edu
irwinb@cowley.edu
Allied Health Department Overview
Exciting things continue to happen at the department! We would like to welcome the following new instructors who are teaching online classes for the department: John Elliott, Hiedi Isom, Lisa Kilts and Travis Morin. This spring, we started teaching the following new online classes at the college: Medical Coding I, Allied Healthcare Anatomy and Physiology, and Medical Office Procedures. We have also been busy developing new courses that were requested by the healthcare community. These are being added to the summer or fall schedule:
ALH 5241 Medical Coding II – ICD-9-CM
This course is designed to present basic ICD-9-CM coding and Healthcare Reimbursement issues. The student will develop competencies in the basic elements of medical coding using the ICD-9-CM manual. Various body systems will be reviewed so that students will better understand how the coding is derived. This is the second of two courses in medical coding and is intended for those entering the medical profession, whether it be as a front office employee with day to day involvement in the coding aspect, or clinical personnel who will be integral in the coding aspect as the provider or assisting the provider.
ALH 5242 Medical Coding III – Healthcare Reimbursement
This course is designed to incorporate all concepts presented in Medical Coding I & II into an understandable format that explains the process of healthcare reimbursement. The student will learn to apply the competencies learned in Medical Coding I & II into real life coding and reimbursement situations. This is the final of three courses in medical coding.
ALH 5243 Health Insurance and Billing Processes
This course provides an in-depth investigation of the various types of health insurance and processes utilized by practitioners to bill for health services. Students will be introduced to medical coding procedures but this course does not focus on that process. This is not open to those who have completed ALH 5242 Medical Coding III.
Leadership (EMS Emphasis) AGS Degree
This degree was designed for EMS professionals to gain necessary leadership skills. More information on this degree can be found in the EMS section of the newsletter.
Upcoming Changes
We have been asked by many folks to develop a pathophysiology class; we listened and are currently developing this course. Also, our office technology program is being revised to provide, if approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, degree programs for the coding and transcription classes.
EMS Education
2006 MICT Day Class Graduation
Graduation for 11 students in Cowley College’s Mobile Intensive Care Technician (paramedic) program was held January 26th in Cowley’s Earle N. Wright Community Room on the main campus in Arkansas City. The program, which finished on December 15, completed the AAS degree requirements for these graduates.
The following are the graduating members of the daytime class of 2006: Jenni Leis, Rose Hill; Kevin Leis, Rose Hill; Amber McMonigle, Wichita; Jose Moreno, Wichita; Luke Rivera, Mulvane; Brian Schmidt, Moundridge; Deb Shrewsbury, Clearwater; Gabrielle Simon, Clearwater; Sarah Stephenson, Wichita; Echo Vaden, Dexter; and Tara Wittsell, Wichita.
The evening began when Slade Griffiths, Allied Health Department Chair, issued the welcome and discussed the education the graduates received while in Cowley’s program. Griffiths praised all of the people involved with the program and singled out Cindy Branscum, Lead MICT Instructor, for “her dedication to the students – something that truly impacted their learning.” Dr. Roy Danks, Cowley Associate Medical Advisor then spoke to the graduates about how to psychologically survive while working in the field as a paramedic. Dr. Danks worked as a paramedic many years before becoming a trauma surgeon.
Dr. Patrick McAtee, Cowley President, and Mrs. Branscum conferred the certificates and presented the class of 2006 to the gathering of about 150 people who came to honor the graduates. Dr. McAtee thanked the graduates for selecting EMS as a career and for choosing Cowley College for their education.
“We are all very thankful and proud of every one of you,” said Dr. McAtee.
During the course of their schooling, these graduates assessed 5,000 patients and administered over 3,000 medications during the year. With this tenth graduating class, Cowley MICT graduates now treat approximately 70,000 patients each year.
The national job outlook continues to be greater than average, and the local job outlook looks promising. All graduates have found employment in the EMS field.
Cowley currently has two MICT programs in progress and will start both day and evening programs in January 2008.
Cowley Paramedic 2007 Day Class
The Cowley 2007 Day class started with 16 students on January 8, 2007. The students have already completed Anatomy and Physiology and are quickly progressing to ECG interpretation and pharmacology. They are now starting to intubate patients in the Operating Room and will also be spending time with Winfield Area EMS and Arkansas City Fire and EMS in their pre-internship rides.
Cowley Paramedic 2006-07 Evening Class
The students in the evening MICT program began their Field Internship on February 14th. There are eleven students completing their FI with Sedgwick County EMS, two students at Winfield Area EMS, and one student at Butler County EMS. They will be in Field Internship until the latter part of May, after which they will be back in the classroom for National Registry testing preparation.
Jared Smith, a student in the evening MICT program, was recently deployed with his army unit at the end of hospital clinicals. Jared will be serving as a combat medic with his unit during their deployment to the Middle East. He is still in the MICT program, and will complete his field internship after he returns from his combat tour. Our thoughts and prayers go with Jared.
We would like to thank the hospitals, physicians, nurses, other hospital staff members, and our adjunct instructors that assisted in the hospital clinical portion of this program. The students completed clinical training at William Newton Hospital, South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center, Via Christi St. Francis, Via Christi St. Joseph, and the Sedan City Hospital. The clinical portion of the program is integral for providing students with opportunities to apply and master skills while treating patients, and we greatly appreciate everyone that made this year’s clinicals a success.
2008 Paramedic Programs
In January 2008, we will again be starting both daytime and evening MICT programs. Now is the time to make preparations and apply to enter this exciting and challenging program. Our daytime class will be held in Winfield and the evening class will be held at the Andover campus of Butler Community College.
Leadership Degree
Leadership is an integral component to the dynamic and evolving field of EMS. From service directors, to street supervisors and field technicians, an intimate understanding of leadership is integral to the success of both individuals and organizations. An organization with great leadership will be more effective, more cost efficient and have better employee morale at all levels, all of which are important components of any successful organization.
As a profession in its relative infancy, the need for skilled and knowledgeable leaders in the EMS field is immense. EMS leaders must deal with not only normal leadership issues such as conflict resolution, leader-follower relationships and fiscal responsibilities, they must also be familiar with laws regarding patient care and billing, appropriate system status management, and how to lead the unique followers that comprise an EMS organization. To be a successful leader in EMS, one must be intimately familiar with current leadership practices and the issues confronting EMS organizations.
The associate of general studies degree program in Leadership (with an EMS emphasis) from Cowley College is designed to provide a conceptual framework for individuals to facilitate the implementation of successful leadership practices in EMS organizations. Topics such as leadership styles, organizational leadership and EMS financial management provide a better understanding of the necessary components that form a successful EMS organization, and how individuals at all levels of the organization can be responsible for positive organizational change. One does not need to be a leader in title to affect powerful personal and organizational payoffs.
To better serve the busy professionals that are the target audience of this program, the delivery format of the leadership program has been enhanced to allow participants to obtain all of the program elective requirements online. The course scheduling has also been changed from the traditional 16 week long semester to offering two 8 week courses per semester.
Following is a list of the required electives for this program:
LED1448 Introduction to Leadership
LED1449 Organizational Leadership
LED1450 Human Relations in Organizations
LED1451 Financial Management
LED1452 Educational Practice and Theory for the Leader
LED1453 Management Information Systems
LED1454 Leadership Mentoring
LED1455 Strategic Leadership
EMS5667 Prehospital Care Administration I
EMS5668 Prehospital Care Administration II
EMS5669 Principles of EMS Systems
To receive an AGS degree in leadership, students must also complete thirty hours of general education courses.
This program will begin in August, so be sure to enroll soon. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Cannon at 620-229-5985.
Hybrid EMT-Basic Course
The Cowley hybrid EMT-Basic program is designed to offer a convenient format for working adults and others to complete their EMT-Basic training. This is accomplished by utilizing an online component for didactic instruction along with an on-ground component for psychomotor skills integration. A clinical and field internship portion of 24 and 36 hours respectively is also included in the program.
Students that enroll in the program will complete lecture assignments, discussion board postings, homework and quizzes via the Cowley WebCT online course delivery software. The lecture portion of class consists of a narrated PowerPoint presentation that is available both online and via CD-ROM to students that have slower internet connections.
Students will also be required to attend a once weekly skills laboratory session at the Winfield Allied Health Center to ensure mastery of psychomotor skills. At the beginning of the program, all students will receive a skills DVD that demonstrates in detail the skills required in the course. In the classroom, the students will receive further skills instruction and will be closely monitored in the laboratory setting by qualified Cowley adjunct faculty members.
We believe that a hybrid course is currently the most effective method of extensively utilizing an online component in an initial EMS course of instruction. The structure of this course will allow us to ensure that students who complete the program are just as competent as their on-ground comrades. It is our hope that with the convenience offered by this course more students will be able to make their dream of becoming an EMT a reality.
Hybrid classes start in August, so be sure to enroll soon. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Cannon at 620-229-5985.
Tactical Classes
Cowley will offer its fourth Basic Tactical EMS Operations course on September 8th and 9th. Participants in this class will learn basic tactical emergency medical care fundamentals such as care under fire, team tactics, and sensory deprived assessment. Tactical vests, handcuffs, replica firearms and EMS kits will be provided during the course for all participants. The class will have a classroom component and an exciting hands-on portion where students will function as a tactical team and apply their new tactical EMS skills. This course is a prerequisite for the Advanced Tactical EMS Operations course.
The Advanced Tactical EMS Operations course will be offered on September 29th and 30th. This class will build on the skills taught in the basic course, and an emphasis on field operations and application of skills under stress is utilized. This course culminates in the students functioning as tactical EMS providers while conducting mock raids on several different on-campus and off-campus buildings and residences. During the field operations portion of class, students must plan the raid, execute the raid (including providing on-scene EMS care), and debrief the team after the raid is completed.
These classes are very popular offerings, so please be sure to enroll soon. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Cannon at 620-229-5985.
CNA and Related Education
The first LPN IV class is progressing well. This course will certify LPNs to establish IVs and give most IV medications. This is a great class to incorporate more skills for LPNs.
Janet Bogle attended a great educational conference in Albuquerque the first week of February. The conference addressed a different approach to teaching nursing students involving more “need to know” information and a variety of teaching skills. She learned new methods for teaching students so they are better prepared for the job and for examinations that require the ability to critically think instead of simple recall of information.
Scholarships for CNA/CMA courses were awarded to Nicolasa Carrasco, Susan Lind, and Valerie Snow. We wish them success in their classes!
We are pleased to announce that Winfield Rest Haven has agreed to be a clinical site for our CMA and CNA students. We hope to utilize this facility next semester.
An open house was held for Winfield and Arkansas City High Schools for students interested in classes being offered in the Fall of 2007 which will include a CNA and HHA combined class. Approximately 40 students participated. Many expressed interest in these classes.
Pratt-Cowley ADN Program at Winfield
Students who were in the first class of the newly formed nursing degree program at the Winfield Center last fall are now in their second year. Four instructors have offices at the Winfield campus. A new group of first year students has joined the program and have already started their clinical training. Classes are held at the Cowley College Winfield Allied health Center while the instructional faculty, program and curricula is supervised by Pratt Community College.
TEAS testing may be scheduled by calling the Allied Health office at 620.221.3392.
Long Term Adult Health Care Administrator
Opportunities as a licensed Adult Care Home Administrator have never been better. Cowley’s program is one of the oldest and most popular in the state. Instruction fulfills standards set by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Contact Bruce Irwin at 800.296.3633 for more information.
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