 | |
| Department of Health Sciences | |
| Type | Education, Faculty |
|---|---|
| Leader | Vacant |
| Leader title | Department Chair—Health Sciences and Nursing Preparation |
| Affiliations | Oakridge College |
The Department of Health Sciences and Nursing Preparation prepares students for practical, academic, and service-oriented work connected to health, care, wellness, and healthcare readiness. We believe health education should do more than introduce students to medical language or scientific theory. It should help them build the knowledge, discipline, communication skills, and professional judgment needed to support people in vulnerable and structured care environments.
At Oakridge, we approach health sciences as both an academic field and a public responsibility. The department reflects the college’s broader commitment to stewardship, community service, and practical preparation. In Briarmont, where the relationship between people, place, and wellbeing has always mattered, health education is understood as part of the larger work of sustaining a community.
The department does not function as a medical school or an independent nursing school. Instead, it provides preparatory pathways for students who intend to continue into medical, nursing, allied health, or public health study, while also offering focused certificate programs for students seeking practical healthcare-adjacent skills. Students may pursue coursework in human biology, anatomy and physiology, health communication, patient care foundations, community health, medical terminology, healthcare systems, and supervised support practice.
Whether you are preparing for medical school, nursing school, allied health training, home health work, or community health service, the department offers a course of study that balances scientific foundation with practical readiness. Here, students build the habits of accuracy, care, professionalism, and responsibility expected in health-related environments.
We serve students who want to care, to prepare, to support, to study, and to continue forward into demanding healthcare pathways with discipline and purpose. If you are seeking an education rooted in service, human wellbeing, and preparation for future health professions, you will find your place here.
Programs of Study
The Department of Health Sciences and Nursing Preparation offers a focused selection of academic and applied programs designed to support healthcare preparation, pre-professional study, community health, and practical care-related training. Its course offerings are organized to serve students seeking transfer preparation for medical, nursing, allied health, and public health pathways, as well as those pursuing focused certificate-based preparation for supervised support roles.
Programs offered by the Department of Health Sciences and Nursing Preparation include:
- A.S. in Health Sciences and Nursing Preparation
- A.S. in Public and Community Health
- B.S. in Health Sciences
- Allied Health Certificate
- Home Health Aide Certificate
Together, these programs give the department a clear pre-health and community care identity. The bachelor’s-level Health Sciences program supports students preparing for advanced study, including pre-medical pathways, while the associate programs provide structured foundations for nursing preparation, allied health study, public health, and community wellness. The certificate programs offer practical routes into supervised healthcare support, allowing students to develop focused skills without overstating Oakridge’s role as a clinical licensing institution.
Ranks & Positions
The department is led by its Department Chair and staffed through the standard Oakridge faculty ladder — Tenured Professor, Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Adjunct Faculty, and Teaching Assistant.
The department belongs to the Natural Sciences division and reports to the Dean of Natural Sciences.