Affordable, Short-term Career Technical Education Programs at Miami Dade College – Medical Center Campus
 
With the downturn of the economy, we are witnessing a decline of many of today’s careers. However, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the field of healthcare will continue to grow for at least the next decade. Consequently, Miami Dade College continues to be a leader in educating today’s new healthcare professionals. For those who may be unemployed, seeking a new career, and looking for an accredited, affordable short-term education option, enrolling in one of the Career Technical Education Programs in healthcare at Miami Dade College- Medical Center Campus is an “obvious choice.”
 
As the largest and most diverse college in the nation, Miami Dade College offers over 300 programs of study and several degree options, including the ever popular, short-term Career Technical Education Programs in Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomy, Medical Coder Biller, and Massage Therapy, offered on the Medical Center Campus in the heart of Miami’s medical district. These programs prepare students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities for high skill, emerging careers by combining rigorous academics with career planning activities and pertinent career and technical skills, all in a relatively short amount of time. In keeping with the College’s mission, students are also afforded opportunities to participate in community service initiatives designed for their enrichment and the development of the community.
 
In today’s healthcare organizations, prospective employers are seeking to hire employees with specialized skills who do not require a great deal of on-the- job training and who are also capable of learning rather quickly. To address this need, Miami Dade College will continue to assist in reducing the disconnect between school and work by preparing students enrolled in short-term Career Technical Education Programs in healthcare with the fundamental skills necessary to enter today’s 21st century healthcare industry. 


Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., FACOFP dist., who serves as dean at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM), was recently selected as a Fulbright senior specialist scholar. The Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, promotes linkages between U.S. academics and professionals and their counterparts at universities abroad. The program is designed to award grants to qualified U.S. faculty and professionals, in select disciplines, to engage in short-term collaborative two- to six-week projects at higher education institutions in over 100 countries worldwide.
 
Dr. Silvagni is the third NSU-COM administrator to be accorded this honor.

 



Lakeside Medical Center recently welcomed 10 residents from across the country to its new Family Medicine Residency Program. Lakeside Medical Center was accredited earlier this year by the American Osteopathic Association to offer the new program at a time when Palm Beach County, and particularly the rural area of the county known as “The Glades,” is seeing a critical shortage of primary care physicians. The program is funded by a $900,000 grant from the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration and will train a total of 15 residency positions over three years.
 
Nearly 80 people attended the event hosted by Lakeside Medical Center and one of its community partners in the program, Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. In a moving ceremony, residents one by one donned their white doctor’s coats which were presented to them by Nikerson Geneve, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education for Lakeside Medical Center. In his remarks, Dr. Geneve encouraged the residents to always strive for the best in their futures as medical professionals.
 


The road to becoming a physician includes extensive training and development. For medical students from Nova, their journey continues at Bethesda.
 
Teaming up with Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bethesda Memorial Hospital is providing the clinical setting for 12 medical students during their last two years of medical school. The class of 2013 will be completing their third and fourth year core rotations at Bethesda.
 
Bethesda Memorial Hospital has trained Nova medical students for the past six years. The students will have one- and two-month rotations with members of Bethesda’s Medical Staff in both hospital and office settings. The areas of rotation include: internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatric ER, outpatient pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, psychiatry, geriatrics and emergency medicine.


In just a dozen years, Dade Medical Institute has grown from a start-up educational facility in Miami to accredited Dade Medical College with four campuses in the Miami area. And a fifth one on the way.
 
Co-founded by CEO Ernesto Perez, Jr. in 1999, Dade Medical was recognized as a college six years ago. Perez said the idea for the school came from when he was originally selling diagnostic medical ultrasounds. "A lot of the folks who purchased our equipment wanted to receive training. So we actually started out as an ultrasound school, and then it evolved from there."
 
It has evolved so much that Dade Medical College now consists of four campuses – Miami, Hialeah, Homestead and Hollywood; and Perez believes the key is simply what the college provides: "We offer quality education in health care and a wide array of programs, including nursing, diagnostic medical ultrasounds, echocardiography, and X-ray. And we offer it with a personal touch; our students are never a number."
 
Offering quality education and a variety of programs is a good start, but many graduates with degrees in other fields remain unemployed. That is one of the advantages of Dade Medical College. As Perez explained, "We’ve had great success in training our kids. We’re outcome-based, where we walk our students not just through their education, but through the whole certification process as well. In an unsure world, it gives them, at minimum, optimal possibilities of success in their chosen field."
 
So who are the students? Perez said the demographics are quite wide. "Whereas in the early days our students were composed of more working adults, now we get a lot who come right out of high school. No longer is our school a secondary choice. When you have someone who graduates say, with an associate degree in English, that doesn’t guarantee them much of a career. However, if you have a nursing student or an ultrasound student in this two-year program, their associate degree – once they pass their certification – gives them a good chance of landing a job that will pay them $45,000 to $55,000 a year." (Perez pointed out that those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
 
"So when you add up what you’re getting at a career college such as ours, compared with what you might be getting at a community college just for a general education or an arts education, I think people are making a conscious decision to walk away with something that can actually put some food on the table."
 
The four campuses currently have about 1800 students and employ approximately 400 people. And the college continues to expand. In the fall, Dade Medical College will relocate its Hialeah campus to Miami Lakes. "We’re really excited about moving. We did everything possible to stay in Hialeah, but we couldn’t find a suitable site. And the city of Miami Lakes has been very welcoming." Perez said the 40,000 sq. ft. campus will contain plenty of parking and many student amenities. "The building is a much better location for the students and we’re confident that they’re going to be very comfortable there." It will be situated closer to the Palmetto Expressway, providing easier access.
 
Did Perez expect this type of growth a decade ago? "No," he admits, "but we’re very grateful for it. And it was foreseeable during these economic times that are challenging. You could see that a lot of folks were transitioning out of real estate, out of banking, and looking for something that gives them the possibility to be able to join the workforce in what’s considered a relatively consistent and steady job demand in this market.’
 
He emphasized, however, that "we don’t want to grow for the sake of growing. We just want to be sure we’re providing a quality education to the community. We check out what’s going on in the health care community, and we try to fulfill that need. So the market pretty much determines what programs we offer."
 
Perez said he thanks Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi for "accommodating us with open arms. We look forward to many years of mutual growth and prosperity there, and educating the community." The next campus is scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of next year at the Shops at Cresthaven in Palm Beach, where Perez has already signed a lease for a 40,000 sq. ft. facility.