Integrated Healthcare Studies Major (B.S.I.H.S)
Program Overview
The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Healthcare Studies (B.S.I.H.S.) degree is a completion degree for individuals who have completed at least 60 semester hours in an allied health-related discipline. The B.S.I.H.S. program provides students the opportunity to continue their education, enhance their current career possibilities, and provides a pathway for continued study in graduate education. The Integrated Healthcare Studies program responds to the needs of an increasingly complex state of the American healthcare system by providing opportunities for students to acquire vital knowledge and skills that will be critical in practicing and navigating the healthcare system. The healthcare system is becoming more complex, and healthcare professionals and healthcare support are among the overall fastest growing occupations, with the expectation of achievement of higher levels of post-secondary education.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program:
- Students will be able to identify various roles of healthcare professionals in a healthcare setting.
- Students will be able to integrate and apply knowledge, from both social and cultural perspectives, to their practice and/or engagement in a healthcare setting.
- Students will be able to apply critical thinking skills to their selected healthcare profession.
Admissions Information
The admissions criteria are as follows:
- Minimum 60 hours of credit in a health-related field (e.g., health technology, medical assisting technology, human services technology, health information management, respiratory care, physical therapist assistant). To further qualify, the student must also have completed the following:
- One course in mathematics, logic, statistics, or quantitative reasoning
- One course in English composition
- One course in biological or natural sciences
- One course in psychology, sociology, social work, or social sciences
- At least 9 semester hours in additional courses with a health or medical focus such as: First Aid and CPR/AED, Medical Terminology, and courses with the Ohio University prefixes of BIOS (Biological Sciences), HTCH (Health Technology), MAT (Medical Assisting Technology), HST (Human Services Technology) or HLTH (Health). Other courses will be considered to meet this requirement depending on their relevancy.
- A minimum GPA of 2.0 (C).
Students who do not meet the specific admissions criteria listed above may apply as a non-degree student and take courses toward being admitted to the degree program (financial aid eligibility may be impacted for a non-degree student).
Opportunities Upon Graduation
This degree provides opportunity for more sophisticated study of allied health disciplines which may enable a student to pursue management and executive positions in the healthcare industry. B.S.I.H.S. students may go on to work in hospitals, medical laboratories, pharmacies, state or federal goverment agencies, long-term care and rehabilitation facilities, clinical research organizations and a variety of other healthcare-related agencies.
Some students who complete this B.S. degree may choose to pursue graduate/professional programs. This program provides the opportunity to complete a bachelor's degree (which is normally a requirement for graduate study) and to potentially explore allied health disciplines through elective coursework which may assist/prepare a student for further education at the graduate level. Examples of some of the paths for graduate study would include speech-language pathology, audiology, public/community health, health education, health informatics, health care administration, and social work.