University of Vermont
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University of Vermont: Advancing healthcare through impactful medicine

Within the serene greenery of Burlington’s landscape lies an intimate yet vibrant campus that is the fifth-oldest university in New England, after Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown. This is the University of Vermont (UVM), a top research university championing multidisciplinary learning at all levels of study. Here, ideas and opportunities flow dynamically between student and faculty, enhanced by its stunning natural landscapes that foster some of the country’s brightest minds.

The Graduate College is where excellence is taken up a notch to reshape how ideas are expressed. Thanks to its world-class faculty and outstanding research, this small but mighty knowledge powerhouse offers a world of opportunities for students to instigate meaningful changes. Take its College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), for instance, which promotes the highest standard of patient-centric care committed to improve their quality of life. Through hands-on experience and rigorous professional preparation, graduates emerge career-ready to deliver compassionate and informed healthcare to others.

Purposeful and innovative healthcare

Far from merely preparing graduates for their profession, CNHS relies on evidence-based practice to stay on top of current developments in healthcare and wellness. In addition to professional doctorate programmes in Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, incoming students can choose from any of the five master’s degree programmes and an Interprofessional Health Sciences Ph.D.  programme. For aspiring nurses, there are two options to enrol into the programme — either through the Nursing: Master of Science Clinical Nurse Leader route for those with prior nursing degrees, or the Direct Entry route if you have a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification in non-nursing fields.

Outside of nursing, CNHS offers specialisations in speech-language pathology, physical activity and wellness science, and medical laboratory science for students who want to branch out to other health disciplines. Dive into practical work under licensed speech-language pathologists to prepare for clinical fellowship, engage in preventative health through expert understanding of the mind-body connection, or develop new technologies to stop communicable diseases — the potential to go further is endless at the college.

With UVM’s reputation as a top 100 public research university in the US, it’s unsurprising that CNHS is engaged in research to advance multimodal treatment emphasising prevention and wellness-promotion strategies. Researchers at the college have made headway on multiple fronts in the health field, anywhere from employing precision medicine to improve cancer therapies to long-term effects of concussion in academic performance. The Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) programme provides an opportunity to engage in interprofessional research across fields and in the biomedical and psychosocial domains relevant to the health sciences. The UVM Dissertation of the Year award in Social Sciences, Humanities and the Creative Arts for 2021-22 was earned by an IHS student, Dr. Mariana Wingood.

Future-forward medicine

Taking the reins in innovation, UVM’s Larner College of Medicine has been at the forefront of reimagining a holistic approach to healthcare for generations. Since its founding in 1822, this seventh-oldest medical school in the US is ranked first nationally in active patient care and primary care physicians per capita, and is home to over 300 graduate students across multiple branches of medical studies.

With the University of Vermont Medical Centre on campus, students benefit from a vast network of clinical programmes and services firsthand, which they will repeatedly interact with throughout their studies. The direct student-faculty engagement is key to foster an immersive and experiential environment for cultivating advanced clinical and research skills.

For instance, the Master of Science in Pharmacology offers a thesis-based degree option where experimentation in areas such as cardiovascular regulation and medicinal chemistry can be conducted in any pharmacology-focused lab within the university. The faculty also train doctoral students in cross-disciplinary programmes such as neuroscience or cellular, molecular and biomedical sciences.

University of Vermont

The college-town environment of Burlington and close-knit research community at the university encourage greater interactivity among students for dynamic idea exchange. Source: Graduate College, the University of Vermont

The result of this collaborative nature in disseminating knowledge speaks for itself: students go on to write award-winning original theses, while faculty members are inducted into prestigious scientific academies such as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Aside from the Doctor of Medicine (MD) qualification, the college is home to other cutting-edge graduate programmes in health sciences. If you’re keen on pursuing your passion to the fullest, the doctorate programmes at the college can prepare you for promising futures in academia, industry, or governmental work.

The 100% online Master of Public Health takes population health beyond pathology to explore larger issues shaping policies and crisis interventions to tackle current and emerging challenges in healthcare disparities. There’s also the option to pursue graduate certificate courses if you can’t commit to long-term study. Earn a more thorough understanding in fields such as epidemiology and professional end-of-life care to progress to the next rung of your career ladder within the sector while surrounded by a close-knit scientific community.

Actionable science starts here

Part of the solution in improving patient care access starts with training adept and compassionate health practitioners. UVM has all the tools and expertise in its arsenal to consistently push the boundaries of medicine for the betterment of collective wellbeing through evidence-based studies.

The Graduate College’s health-based programmes not only conform to the most current development in scientific research; they’re also humane in practice, putting patients’ needs as a top priority in delivering efficient and quality care. It may be science that drives UVM’s trailblazing achievements in healthcare, but it’s empathy that makes all the difference in a patient’s healing journey.

To join a team of outstanding healthcare practitioners at the Graduate College, click here.

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