Named one of “America’s Best Colleges” by Forbes magazine in 2012 for the second consecutive year, Barry University in Miami Shores offers more than 50 health and medicine related degree programs to help health care professionals achieve their goals. In Barry’s programs, students benefit from small classes; personal attention from experienced faculty; and hospital, business, and community partnerships that ensure professional, hands-on training before graduation.
 
From podiatric medicine to anesthesiology, from health services administration to emergency medicine, Barry offers programs in some of health care’s fastest-growing fields.
 
For starters, Barry’s undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry give students a solid foundation in science to pursue their field of interest, while the master’s in biomedical sciences also prepares students be successful medical school candidates. Alumni have been accepted into some of the top graduate programs in the nation, including Barry’s own School of Podiatric Medicine, where they can pursue a career as a podiatric physician/surgeon (DPM) or physician assistant. Barry houses the only School of Podiatric Medicine in the Southeast, while the Physician Assistant Program also offers degrees in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Additionally, Barry has a bachelor’s and master’s program in health services administration (which can be paired with a Master of Public Health) that prepares students to confidently navigate changes in the health care industry.
 
Leaders in Nursing, Allied Health
Since 1953, Barry’s nursing programs have produced highly skilled, compassionate, and ethical nursing professionals, a tradition that continues today. Barry offers the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), RN-to-BSN program, and an accelerated BSN track. The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) has specializations in nurse educator, nursing executive leadership, and nurse practitioner. At the doctoral level are the post-baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and the post-master’s DNP with specializations in nurse practitioner and nursing executive leadership. Students can also pursue the research-focused PhD in nursing.
 
RNs may advance as a nurse anesthetist with Barry’s Master of Science in Anesthesiology. The program has had a 100 percent passing rate on the CRNA exam the last four years. Current CRNAs can seek the online Doctor of Nursing Practice with a specialization in anesthesiology.
 
Barry’s programs in allied health include a pharmacy technician training program, an EMT training program, and the only cardiovascular perfusion bachelor’s degree program in Florida. The clinical biology program includes a bachelor’s degree with specializations in histotechnology, nuclear medicine, and medical technology, and a master’s degree with specializations in histotechnology and laboratory management.
 
The Professional Science Master’s in Medical Biotechnology is a unique, multidisciplinary program that combines traditional science courses with those in business, leadership, and communication. A flexible master’s program in occupational therapy is also available.
Strides in Exercise Science
 
With Barry’s seamless bachelor’s-to-master’s programs in the sport and exercise sciences, students can earn both their degrees in just five years. Students interested in human performance and sport-related industries may pursue bachelor’s degrees in athletic training, exercise physiology, and coaching/physical education. Master’s degrees are offered in exercise physiology; injury and sport biomechanics; and sport, exercise and performance psychology.
 
Innovation in Counseling and Social Work
With innovative outreach programs and extensive community partnerships, students learn to make a difference as counselors and advocates. Barry’s School of Education offers master’s and specialist degrees in counseling focusing on marital, couple, and family counseling/therapy, mental health counseling, and school counseling; the Specialist in School Psychology; and the PhD in counseling.
 
The School of Social Work offers both the bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work, and is the only school in the U.S. that has a comprehensive year-round accelerated program for BSW graduates and MSW students.


Miami Dade College (MDC) Medical Campus (MC) plays an essential role in providing education to the community. However, are you aware that MDC MC is also providing access for the community to basic health screenings and health education? This is not only for their students, staff and faculty, but also to the community of Dade County. Miami Dade College is the largest and most diverse institution of higher education in the nation, enrolling more than 170,000 students from across the world.
 
Seven years ago, in an effort to engage the community and promote health and healthy habits, particularly to the medically-underserved population of Miami-Dade County, MDC MC hosted its first Community Health Fair. Since its inception, the Community Health Fair has doubled in size and has consistently served over 1,500 community residents annually. The fair has also expanded the services it offers to participants – adding free mammograms, bone density screenings, massage therapy, and vaccinations to its established services of dental cleanings and glucose, cholesterol, glaucoma, spinal, and blood pressure screenings. “These are essential, yet basic services and screenings that the patients may otherwise go without … for years” (Everett, 2013). These services remain FREE to the community.
 
The 2013 Miami Dade College Community Health Fair will be the 8th year that MDC MC has hosted the event. Held on Saturday, February 23 from 9:00 – 1:00 p.m., the Community Health Fair represents another way MDC reaches out to meet the needs of the Miami-Dade County community. Health fair attendees will have access to blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol tests, along with chair massages, spinal and vision screenings, and information on nutrition, heart disease and cancer prevention. The fair will provide a limited number of free mammograms, dental cleanings and full eye examinations. Health professionals, including pharmacists from the Florida Pharmacy Association, also attend the fair providing an opportunity for attendees to receive counseling after their screenings in order to help them adjust their lifestyles accordingly and to provide additional information about accessing community resources for follow-up prevention and treatment.
 
Area partners continually show their support of the health fair. Over 30 community agencies will be in attendance. Sponsorship of the health fair allows for purchase of medical supplies necessary to conduct health screenings, educational materials for distribution, promotion of the event, and other event-related materials and supplies. Sponsors include Care Access, Florida Pharmacy Association, Humana, Aetna and Pinnacle Imaging. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also expanded their presence for this year’s event.
 
The purpose of the Miami Dade College Medical Campus Community Health Fair is to provide an opportunity to improve the health of Miami-Dade County residents by educating and reinforcing health and wellness strategies to positively impact on the lives of those in attendance – with a focus on those residents who are medically underserved, low-income, and those who have a high incidence of preventable health issues. Primary goals of the Community Health Fair are to help people become better informed about health issues that affect their lives and learn about community services available that may be currently unknown to them.
 
Miami Dade College Medical Campus continues to make a difference – in the lives of students and in the lives of the community. The Medical Campus is positively impacting the health of Miami-Dade County. 


Florida National University was selected to participate in the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Scholarship program as a Minority Serving Institution in Florida. Commander Alan Worthy, Director of the Commander Naval Air Forces Diversity Directorate discussed the program with students and Florida National University Military Department staff.
 
The Navy ROTC Scholarship program provides $180,000 in scholarship money and earns a commission as a naval officer upon graduation. Other benefits include full tuition, books, and academic related expenses at over 150 top colleges and universities. The student receives a monthly spending allowance and guaranteed employment for at least four years.


As South Florida continues to climb out of the deep recession caused by the economic crash of 2008, more and more people are looking for ways to reinvent themselves and create a new career path that will give them the financial security to provide their families with a bright and stable future. While this creates a great opportunity for the rapidly growing healthcare fields, it does not come without its challenges.
 
According to a report developed by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, the number of healthcare jobs available will expand by three million positions over the next decade. In response to this growth, the demand for postsecondary education and training in healthcare will also continue to rise. By 2020, 94% of professional and technical occupations will require postsecondary accreditation, second only to STEM and education degrees. In other words, it will become more difficult for people to enter this workforce with the appropriate accreditation because of the heavy time commitment required to attain these degrees.
 
South Florida in particular, is seeing the shift, due to its dense and growing senior population. To be able to meet these needs, educational institutions will have to take a look at their current models and figure out ways to adjust to better serve the community and the industry. Specifically, learning institutions will need to start implementing flexible options like open enrollment, availability for morning and night classes, more degree start options and a defined track that allows students to know exactly when they will graduate.
 
Today, Dade Medical College (DMC) stands as one of the only educational institutions in the South Florida region that offers this type of flexibility and its students and the local healthcare industry have reaped the benefits.
 
“There is definitely something to be learned by just looking at the demographics of our student body,” says Ernesto Perez, Dade Medical College, president and CEO. “Right now, the majority of our students are choosing DMC because it allows them to manage their lives while working towards attaining something better. Similar to today’s healthcare workforce, a vast majority of our students are female with a medium age of 32, and many are also single moms.” Perez adds, “This alone signals that the needs of these students are going to be very different than those of a younger demographic, and as a result, the community is going to have to offer them different options to help them achieve these goals and help the industry fill the gap.”
 
The numbers show that the desire of the students and the talent in our community is there for us to cultivate. Last year alone, DMC boasted a retention rate of 91%, a job placement rate of 85%, and accredited over 825 students, making it one of the most successful healthcare education programs in the region. Additionally, DMC has been able to avoid turning away students at enrollment time due to lack of space. Through its rolling admissions policy, DMC motivates potential students to pursue their new careers as soon as possible while providing local area hospitals and doctors with the talent that they need on an ongoing basis.
 
As we move forward, these types of programs are going to be in greater demand. A growing Millennial generation that is fueled by instant gratification and short attention spans will begin to gravitate towards educational models that allow them to achieve their goals in a short amount of time. “While the core of our student body is still composed of non-traditional students, we are already starting to see an increase in enrollments from recent high school graduates and students in their early 20s,” says Perez. “This gives us confidence that DMC is on the right track to filling a void in the community and the healthcare profession.”


Over a decade ago, the Institute of Medicine pointed out that there is a need within the healthcare industry for transformational organizational changes to deliver safe, effective, efficient, patient-centered, timely and equitable healthcare. Organizations’ successful adaption to their new environment requires more individuals leading the change as transformational leaders. Transformational leaders are able to successfully change an organization’s culture and develop the system-wide alignment of its strategies to meet the demands of its environment.
 
Transformational leadership theory describes a leader’s ability to motivate a follower to accomplish more than what the follower planned to accomplish. Through transformational leadership’s four traits: (1) idealized influence, (2) inspirational motivation, (3) intellectual stimulation, and (4) individualized consideration, leaders inspire followers to accomplish more by concentrating on the follower’s values and helping the follower align these values with the values of the organization.
 
Leadership research supports the positive effect of transformational leadership on both organizational outcomes and individuals. At the macro level, researchers have demonstrated that transformational leadership has a positive influence on organizational citizenship behavior/performance and organizational culture. At the micro level, studies have reflected transformational leadership’s positive impact on an individual’s level of performance and satisfaction. In addition, researchers have found that transformational leadership develops an individual’s confidence to be creative, and critically analyze problems and solutions.
 
The required transformation of the health care industry calls for transformative leadership, yet few health care systems have demonstrated this leadership style. Successful leadership requires the ability to create and communicate an organization’s vision, and then to inspire, motivate, and empower others to achieve this vision. These goals are achieved through an individual’s development of the four traits of transformational leadership described above. Therefore, educational activities that focus on the development of transformational leadership traits can eventually lead to a more successful organization by fostering high levels of motivation among employees to achieve organizational goals. In addition to professional development activities, a supportive organizational culture is needed for individuals’ to develop transformational leadership traits.
 
Organizational culture is defined as the implicit norms, values, shared behavioral expectations, and assumptions that guide employees’ behaviors. Organizational culture is important because it influences employee perceptions, behaviors, and emotional responses to the workplace (i.e., organizational climate). The resulting organizational climate from a positive culture contributes to the success or failure of an organization. Although culture and climate are distinct, they are interrelated and crucial characteristics of organizations that influence employees’ attitudes regarding their work and organizational commitment. Researchers have noted that positive or constructive cultures are characterized by (1) organizational norms of achievement and motivation, (2) individualism and self-actualization, and (3) being humanistic and supportive. Positive cultures encourage interactions among group members and problem-solving processes that enable staff to achieve their high-order satisfaction needs. Attributes of a positive climate include supportive, risk-tasking, cohesiveness, and motivation to achieve.
 
In conclusion, a high performing healthcare entity requires a supportive organizational culture for the development of individuals’ transformational leadership traits. A supportive culture and a positive organizational climate will be one where there exists a strong need or desire to achieve transformational results, which will be demonstrated by the collective behaviors of the individuals.