Yakima Times

Central Washington University has established an articulation  agreement with Edmonds College designed to streamline the transfer  process between the Pre-Nursing associate’s

degree at EC and the Public  Health bachelor’s degree at CWU. The initiative gained traction in  response to growing demand in the public health field, according to CWU

Executive Director of Extended Learning Lauren Hibbs.

“With an increased focus on community health outcomes, health care  programs have become very, popular,” she said, noting that Edmonds  College recently opened a state-of

the-art health-sciences facility that  has encouraged even more community members to pursue their two-year  degrees.

“This partnership formed for students who are on the pre-public  health pathway to allow them to have a seamless transfer experience to  CWU’s online public health program,”

Hibbs added. “Once finished,  students are prepared for employment in both the public and private  sector.”

EC has partnered with Central for decades and hosts the CWU-Lynnwood  university center. The long-term relationship between the two  institutions played a key role in the

formation of the agreement, as  constant communication between the two institutions was necessary to  ensure the degree requirements lined up. 

The Pre-Nursing to Public Health transfer agreement—which goes into  effect this fall—will ensure students can complete all of the  requirements for the pre-nursing specialization

before tackling the  Public Health bachelor’s degree. Dr. Melody Madlem, a CWU Public Health  professor and the transfer agreement program director, says this broad  approach

will produce more well-prepared public health professionals.

“To me, the best-trained nurse is one who also understands public  health theory, and the best-trained public health professional is one  who understands the role of health and

health care,” Madlem said. “I  think that starting your public health and pre-nursing degree at a  community college means added value, as a broader perspective is vital  to such an

interdisciplinary field.”

In addition to ensuring a seamless transition to Central, the  agreement offers students who might not otherwise have been able to  attend CWU the opportunity to earn a public

health degree in-person or  online from a state university on flexible, student-oriented terms. 

Providing added value to the degrees, the public health industry is  prevalent in the Edmonds area, which could prove to be the push students  need to catapult them into an in

demand, high-paying field.

“I always tell people that what you can’t do in public health is a  shorter list than what you can do,” Madlem said. “Public health  influences every aspect of our lives, and as we all

realized during  Covid, it has taken on an even more visible role.”

Original source can be found here.