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Omaha, Nebraska - Nebraska Methodist College (NMC) has announced a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree with a focus on Public Health Policy.
This online program is designed for master's-prepared leaders to attain their doctoral degrees. Upon completion, students will have the expertise needed to work as leaders in academic, community and healthcare settings.
For the past few years, NMC has offered a Doctor of Education degree with a focus on Education & Leadership in Healthcare. The Public Health Policy track is an addition to this successful program. While a public health policy track is offered in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at NMC, the Ed.D faculty sought to expand the track to fulfill an interest from non-nurses who wished to advance their expertise in public health and health policy.
"The Ed.D in Public Health Policy really looks at leadership and program planning to address public health issues and population health. It also provides students with the skillset to advocate in a policy arena at a local, state, regional or national level," said Dr. Alice Kindschuh, DNP, APRN-CNS, GCNS-BC, director of doctoral studies.
The 44-credit hour program format consists of online courses along with two on-campus intensives. It can be completed in 2 years at full-time study or 3 years at part-time study. Because the majority of the program is online, it allows for students to have flexibility to complete coursework when it works best for their schedules.
Unique to NMC, the Doctor of Education offers a scholarly translational research capstone project as opposed to a dissertation. According to Online EdD Programs' website, as the capstone project is a recent and innovative development in EdD programs, this option is currently only offered by a relatively small number of programs.
"While a dissertation is original research with a goal to generate new knowledge, the doctoral capstone is translational research which 'translates' the research into practice through quality improvement or evidence-based practiced initiatives," said Dr. Kari Wade, EdD, MSN, RN, associate professor at NMC.
The goal of the program is to facilitate leaders who can influence change through population and public health initiatives and health policy. It will enhance their skillset to be the change agents that positively influence public health, program development and higher education at a systems level.
Dr. Kindschuh added, "This program really fits with NMC's mission to positively influence the health and wellbeing of a community. It allows Individuals to play a role in addressing the health of their community at the population level. For healthcare to be effective, we can't wait to have people come to our healthcare systems; we have to go where people are. The Public Health Policy program gives individuals the skillset to develop population health initiatives where people live, work and play."
Potential career paths for those with an Ed.D in Public Health Policy include: higher education, public health education or program specialists, operations management or executive directors of public health non-profits, health system leaders in population health initiatives, health policy advisor and public health consultants.
To gain admittance, applicants must have a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution, along with a master's degree GPA greater than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. No GRE is required for admission.
Applications to enter the program in fall 2020 are currently being accepted on a rolling basis. To learn more about the program, interested students can contact the NMC Admissions team at 402-354-7200 or admissions@methodistcollege.edu.The Ed.D program has earned accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). For information about the accreditation, please visit www.hlcommission.org.
For more on NMC's Doctor of Education in Public Health Policy program, visit https://www.methodistcollege.edu/health-professions/doctoral-degree/edd-public-health-policy.