Benedictine University offers a number of graduate programs for students interested in pursuing a career in the health professions or education through the College of Health Services and Education.

The Master of Science program in Nutrition and Wellness (M.S.N.W.) is designed for those people seeking to enhance their abilities to educate and counsel clients on preventative and therapeutic issues.

Three concentrations within the M.S.N.W. program are available: health education, exercise physiology and dietetics. The dietetic internship concentration provides coursework and practical experience that will lead to certification as a registered dietitian. The program provides approximately 1,150 hours of supervised field placement in community, health care and management organizations. Internship sites include both traditional and non-traditional settings.

Students who choose a concentration in exercise physiology would be eligible for certification by the American College of Sports Medicine as a health/fitness instructor or exercise physiologist, and those who choose the health education concentration would be eligible for certification as a Certified Health Education Specialist by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.

Benedictine University's Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program is the second largest in Illinois. It combines the foundation disciplines of public health with a high degree of responsiveness to local needs and changing circumstances. Throughout its offerings, the M.P.H. program seeks to produce graduates who will contribute to meeting the public health and health care needs of tomorrow.

The M.P.H. program is built on a base of core courses that teach the foundations of the public health processes. Students are taught by acknowledged experts in the field. Each course has a conceptual, factual and skill base. Students learn the disciplines by attaining the knowledge and skills to perform professional functions.

Each student then concentrates on a specific area of public health. These are selected for their emphasis on concepts and processes that will be adaptable to changing circumstances. They include Administration of Health Care Institutions, Health Education, Health Information Systems, Dietetics and Disaster Management.

Benedictine University offers three graduate programs in education – a Master of Education (M.Ed.), a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) and a Master of Science in Science Content and Process (M.S.S.C.P.).

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) program provides a course of study with a number of options that will enhance a teacher's understanding of children's differences, personal systems of communication and the social or political issues that affect the field of education.

The second program, the Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.), leads to Illinois State Certification in Elementary (Type 03), Secondary (Type 09) or Special Education (Type 10) that leads to a Learning Behavior Specialist Type I (LBS I) certification.

The M.S.S.C.P. program is designed for elementary and middle school teachers and those employed as informal science educators at parks, zoos and museums who want to increase their science knowledge and confidence in science teaching.

As the population grows and ages, the demand for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic technology will continue to grow.

To help fill the need for qualified diagnostic medical sonographers, Benedictine University will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography through the College of Science this fall.

"Sonographic technology is evolving rapidly and is generating many new ultrasound procedures," said Don Taylor, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Science at Benedictine University. "There are many career opportunities for sonographers and vascular technologists as technology continues to generate new ultrasound procedures."

Students in the diagnostic medical sonography program at Benedictine will complete their graduation requirements in three years. During their junior year, they will apply to Northwestern Memorial Hospital to complete their clinical education curriculum. During their senior year, students will complete an 18-month, 45-semester hour clinical education program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Upon completion of this curriculum, graduates will be awarded a certificate of qualification as a diagnostic medical sonographer.

For more information about the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at Benedictine University, call the Enrollment Center at (630) 829-6300, e-mail admissions@ben.edu or visit www.ben.edu.

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital acknowledges and embraces its diverse work staff. In fact, more than 19 employees graduated from free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes offered in collaboration with Oakton Community College in 2005. Since the inception of the program in September 2004, staff members at Lutheran General and Advocate Medical Group have taken ESL classes to better communicate with patients, visitors and coworkers as well as prepare themselves for other job opportunities.

"There are many different cultures, people and languages here so it’s very exciting for me to learn to speak, read and write English," says Elzbieta Jedryczka who came to Chicago two years ago from Poland and has worked in environmental services at Lutheran General for the past nine months. Jedryczka, who spoke both Russian and Latin in her home country, is enrolled in the morning ESL classes at the hospital. "It was hard in the beginning, but is getting easier. I like to read the jokes in Reader’s Digest and I can fill out paperwork now at the doctor’s office and everywhere I go. I really enjoy it."

Funded by Lutheran General’s human resource department along with a government grant, five sessions of classes will be offered this year with classes meeting for 90 minutes two days a week for eight weeks each with a two week break between sessions. Scheduled at 6:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to accommodate all shifts, the classes are held on site and taught by a licensed instructor from Oakton Community College – a huge plus for participants who meet either directly before or after work. Students are encouraged to attend the entire year culminating in a celebration and certificate of completion.

Varghese Chacko came to Chicago from India with his wife and three children two years ago. He works in transportation at the hospital where he moves patients to and from X-ray, radiology and other departments, and takes ESL classes in the morning, before his shift starts.

"I wanted to take ESL at the high school, but then I heard that I could take it through the hospital for free," Chacko says. "When I started working here, people would speak to me and I would just look in their faces because I could not understand what they were saying. I feel better knowing the language."

Dusanka Bjelan moved to the area from Yugoslavia with her husband and two sons seven years ago after losing her home in the war. She has worked at the hospital for almost five years, four years in housekeeping and one in the GI laboratory, and is very thankful for the opportunity to learn English.

"When I came here, I had no knowledge of the English language and I was lost. Now I can understand what others are saying to me and I understand my coworkers," says Bjelan. "I’d like to thank my managers and supervisor who support me and allow me to attend the classes. My instructor is always pushing me to move ahead, but is very friendly. I’m happy and satisfied."

According to James Ng, manager of human resource recruitment services, the ESL program reaps numerous benefits. "Although educated in their native countries, many staff are at a disadvantage for job advancement due to their limited ability to speak or understand English. This program is a wonderful way for staff to take the first step toward career advancement in our organization and achieve greater job satisfaction and financial security," says Ng. "In addition to work-related benefits, it also gives participants a sense of what continuing education has to offer."