Angela Heaton, PT, MSEd, Dean
Phone: (419) 995-8813
Email: heaton.a@rhodesstate.edu
Office: TL 102A
Ann Best, OTR/L, MHS, Assistant Dean
Phone: (419) 995-8080
Email: best.a@rhodesstate.edu
Office: CK 224D
Melissa Harvey, EdD, RN, CNE, Assistant Dean, Nursing Services
Phone: (419) 995-8347
Email: harvey.m@rhodesstate.edu
Office: TL 102J
Programs within the Division of Health Sciences and Public Service prepare students for careers that meet specific health industry, public service sector, and agriculture employment needs in northwest Ohio. Rhodes State College also offers several allied health programs through the Northwest Ohio Allied Health Education Consortium. The Consortium combines the resources of five member institutions to provide more degree options and a seamless educational experience. Information regarding the requirements to qualify for the programs can be found on their respective program pages under the Majors tab in this section or in the Degrees, Programs, and Certificates section of the catalog.
Criminal Background Checks and Drug Screening
To meet the expanding requirements of our clinical affiliates, both a criminal background check and a drug screen will be mandatory prior to clinical experiences for most students within the Division of Health Sciences and Public Service. Some program exceptions may apply. You are at risk if you have been convicted of a prior felony and/or some misdemeanors. Students with certain felony, misdemeanor, or drug-related convictions will be ineligible for admission into clinical experiences. A criminal record may also prevent you from obtaining a license or certificate in your chosen healthcare profession or to obtain employment post-graduation. Students admitted to a program containing off-campus clinical/practicum experiences will be required to submit to drug screening. Positive drug screenings may result in dismissal from all clinical courses. Any student who refuses/fails to cooperate or complete any required drug screening will be considered “positive” and dismissed from the clinical component of their program. All students requiring drug screening may be subject to random drug screens and for cause during the program.
Recommended High School Coursework
Students are encouraged to complete college prep classes in high school. Although not required, the courses provide a better understanding of college-level work. Recommended college prep courses include:
English: 4 units
Math: 4 units
Natural Science: 3 units
Social Science: 3 units
Health Insurance
The Division of Health Sciences and Public Service is committed to protecting students, faculty, and patients from infectious diseases during clinical practice and taking every reasonable precaution to provide a safe educational and work environment. All new students entering the health-related programs will be informed of the risks of blood-borne and other infectious diseases. Students with a high risk of infectious diseases should be aware of their own health status and risk of exposure to other students, employees, or patients involved in the clinical environment. All students are required to provide their own health insurance coverage for the duration of their program and be able to provide proof of insurance if requested.
“C” grade policy
- A minimum 2.0 GPA is required for graduation.
- A grade of “C” or higher must be achieved in all courses carrying the specific program prefix such as DHY, EMS, MAT, NSG, OTA, PNS, PTA, RAD, RES and SRG.
- All programs and certificates require a grade of “C” (2.0) or better in required science courses and in required basic/related health science (BHS) courses as well as in selected general education and basic/related science courses (see program requirements).
All of the following required coursework needs to have been completed within five years of matriculation into a Health Sciences program or certificate.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| BIO 1000 | Basic Human Structure and Function | 3 |
| BIO 1110 | Anatomy and Physiology I (The age requirement may be waived by the Program Chair or Coordinator if the applicant is currently working in a healthcare field. ) | 4 |
| BIO 1120 | Anatomy and Physiology II (The age requirement may be waived by the Program Chair or Coordinator if the applicant is currently working in a healthcare field. ) | 4 |
| BIO 1400 | Microbiology | 4 |
| BHS 1390 | Medical Terminology | 2 |
| BHS 2110 | Growth and Development: Lifespan | 2 |
| CHM 1120 | Introductory Organic and Biochemistry | 4 |
| DTN 1220 | Principles of Nutrition | 2 |
| NSG 1721 | Pharmacology for Nursing | 2 |
Health Sciences and Public Service Technical Standards Statement
All applicants accepted to programs in the Division of Health Sciences and Public Service must be able to meet the technical standards of the program of study for which they enroll. Students are asked to review the standards and, for many programs, to sign a form certifying that they have read, understand, and are able to meet the standards. Students are to be provided the technical standards information upon selection of their program of study. These Technical Standards are discipline-specific essentials critical for the safe and reasonable practice within each profession. These standards include concrete statements of the sensory/observational skills; communication skills; motor skills; intellectual conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; and behavioral/social and professionalism for normal and safe functions. The intent of these standards is to inform prospective students of the attributes, characteristics, and abilities essential to practice within their chosen profession. Professional competency is the summation of many cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. The College has a moral and ethical responsibility to select, educate, and graduate competent and safe students/practitioners. Students are judged on their academic accomplishments, as well as on their physical and emotional capacities to meet the full requirements of the curricula and to graduate as skilled effective practitioners. For health programs, patient health and safety is the sole benchmark against which performance requirements, including Technical Standards, are measured.
For programs in health science and the police officer training academy, all students must be able to perform the essential functions of the curriculum and meet the standards described for the program in which the student is enrolled, with or without reasonable accommodations.
All programs within the Division are prepared to provide reasonable accommodations to accepted students who have documented disabilities. The College reserves the right to review information to determine whether an accommodation request is reasonable, taking into account whether an accommodation would:
- involve the use of an intermediary that would in effect require a student to rely on someone else’s power of selection and observation
- fundamentally alter the nature of the program
- lower academic standards
- cause undue hardship on the College
- endanger clinicians, patients or others
Applicants with disabilities who wish to request accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, must follow the College’s procedures for verification of a disability as stated in the Rhodes State College Student Guide to Accommodative Services. * Note: Students disabled after they matriculate into the designated health program are required to follow the same procedures when seeking accommodations.
Technical Standards
All applicants for the health sciences programs and certificates must possess the essential skills and abilities necessary to successfully complete the requirements of the curriculum either with or without reasonable accommodations for any disabilities the individual may have. * Note: The use of an intermediary that in effect requires a student to rely on someone else’s power of selection and observation will not be permitted.
The essential skills and abilities for the programs and certificates within the Division are categorized in the following Technical Standards:
- Sensory/Observational Skills: Students must demonstrate adequate functional use of visual, tactile, auditory and other sensory and perceptual input to enable observation and information acquisition necessary for academic and laboratory performance. For health programs, the applicant must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of all the senses.
- Communication: Students must be able to gather, comprehend, utilize and disseminate information effectively, efficiently and according to professional standards. Students are required to communicate in the English language both verbally and in writing, at a level consistent with competent professional practice. For health programs, the applicant must be able to speak, to hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. An applicant must be able to communicate effectively with patients and all members of the health care team. Communication includes, listening, speaking, reading and writing.
- Motor Skills: Students must possess the motor skills required to properly manipulate necessary equipment within their chosen discipline. These skills will vary depending on the particular program and laboratory settings. Students must possess the coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision. For health programs, applicants must have sufficient motor skills to gain access to clients in a variety of care settings and to manipulate and utilize the equipment central to the assessment, general and emergency treatment of patients receiving health practitioners’ care. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
- Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and evaluation. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of practitioners, requires all of these abilities. In addition, the applicant should be able to comprehend three dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relations of structures.
- Behavioral/Social Skills and Professionalism: Students must demonstrate emotional stability and acceptable communication skills, and be capable of developing mature and effective academic relationships with their faculty, other students and others with which they will work. For health science, an applicant must possess the emotional health required for utilization of his/her intellectual abilities. The exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the care of patients, and the development of effective relationships with patients are essential skills for health practitioners. Applicants must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of the uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Concern for others, integrity, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities necessary for the health practitioners.
- Environmental: For some programs, applicants must interact with diverse populations of all ages with a range of acute and chronic medical conditions. Applicants must be able to tolerate frequent exposure to communicable diseases, toxic substances, ionizing radiation, medicinal preparations, hostile individuals, and other conditions common to health care and other professional environments.
