Degree & Certificate Programs
Advanced Practice Nurse Immersion
103 to 111 credits, master’s entry program
Seattle University
DURATION A little more than two years, plus up to a year of prerequisites that may be taken at a community college. TUITION $57,000 to $62,000, although that will likely increase for the 2010-11 academic year; financial aid is available. WHO IT’S FOR Anyone with an undergraduate degree and caregiver tendencies. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN The true meaning of “immersion.” Fly-by-Nightingales need not apply; designed for career changers, the APNI program crams four years of nursing-school know-how (advanced pathophysiology, psychosocial foundations for advanced practice nursing, etc.) into a hardcore, two-year crash course on next-level health care. But there’s a big payoff: Students earn the right to do almost everything a family doctor can, in one-quarter of the time. GETTING STARTED Call 206-296-5660 or visit seattleu.edu/nursing/msn; the deadline to enroll for the program that begins in June 2010 is December 1.
Emergency Medical Technician
10 credits, certificate program
North Seattle Community College
DURATION Twelve weeks, three days per week, plus a two-day CPR class for those who have yet to be certified. TUITION $715.50. WHO IT’S FOR Superpower-less superheroes, take-charge personalities. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Whether you can stomach a night in the ER. Saving lives is more than just lugging survivors away from exploding cars in slow motion; it can be gory, too. As part of their training, students in NSCC’s EMT program (the oldest in the state) spend one 10-hour shift at Harborview Medical Center after learning how to assess and treat traumatic injuries in the rigorous boot camp–style program. As heroic-deeds prep work goes, it’s an efficient—albeit jam-packed—curriculum, but graduates can expect to endure a year of on-the-job training once they join a fire department. GETTING STARTED Call 206-528-4568 or visit northseattle.edu/health/emt; the entrance exam for the winter quarter is on November 17.
Nutritional Therapy
certificate program
Seattle Central Community College
DURATION One weekend per month plus weekly conference calls for nine months. TUITION $3,300. WHO IT’S FOR Reformed junk-food addicts, believers in better living through whole foods. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN How to evaluate a malnourished client’s mineral intake with a blood pressure cuff. The functional evaluation (a dietary peek under the patient’s hood) is one of several steps nutritional therapists take in holistically helping unhealthy eaters balance their diets. But this isn’t a glorified ad for the USDA’s food pyramid. Graduates of the Olympia-based Nutritional Therapy Association’s proprietary and largely self-directed program guide their clients to a healthy lifestyle through whole foods. GETTING STARTED Call 800-918-9798 or visit learnatcentral.org; registration for the 2010–11 academic year begins next summer.
Occupational Therapy
master’s program
University of Puget Sound
DURATION Two and a half years, plus up to a year of prerequisites. TUITION $70,930; financial aid is available. WHO IT’S FOR Problem solvers, potential life-changers. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN That rehabbing your life is as important as rehabbing your body. Half of the program’s students are pulling a professional U-turn, searching for emotional connections with clients. GETTING STARTED Call 253-879-3211 or visit pugetsound.edu; the 2010 academic year starts next August, but the deadline for applications is January 15.
Published: October 2009
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