2019 NSU Fact book

2019 FACT BOOK 71 Dental student associations organize numerous community service activities, including an Oral Cancer Walk and the College of Dental Medicine’s signature program, Give Kids A Smile. The College of Dental Medicine, founded in 1996, embraces NSU’s Vision 2020 and core values as it strives to achieve its educational, research, and service missions. Over the 22-year history of the CDM, alumni have been realizing their potential, serving as leaders in the dental profession and being recognized for their achievements as outstanding clinicians, dental educators, entrepreneurs, and professional dental association leaders. College of Medical Sciences NSU’s College of Medical Sciences began the Master of Biomedical Sciences (M.B.S.) Program in the fall of 1996. This is a program for students to demonstrate that they can be successful in either NSU’s osteopathic medical program or its dental program. Students are trained in human biology and medicine to improve their academic credentials in order to be considered for admission to our professional schools. Those enrolled in this program take basic science courses, along with dental and osteopathic medicine students. Courses oered include gross anatomy, histology, neuroanatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. The college also serves to coordinate and provide all basic and medical sciences education to the other division colleges and contributes to the unique interdisciplinary training environment. For example, while all of our students need to be proficient in anatomy, the depth and scope of this exposure will vary from profession to profession. Osteopathic medicine, optometry, and dental students require detailed study of head and neck anatomy, while pharmacy and occupational therapy students do not need this same level of emphasis. Conversely, an extensive study of the extremities is vital to the education of osteopathic medicine and occupational therapy students, while optometry and dental stu- dents have less involvement here and, therefore, less of an emphasis. The biomedical sciences have always been an important component of the professional degree programs oered in the Health Professions Division, and the College of Medical Sciences is committed to providing students with the highest quality education as they prepare for clinical, academic, or scientific careers. In addition, as a complement to, and resource for, the division’s other health profession colleges, the College of Medical Sciences is the starting point for the division’s nationally recognized interdisciplinary education programs. College of Optometry One of humanity’s most precious gifts is sight, and the optometric physician is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of this gift. The optometric physician, through academic and clinical training, is able to examine, diagnose, treat, and manage disorders and diseases of the visual system and associated structures. The profession of optometry oers many challenges and rewards to those willing to devote themselves to serving others through a lifetime of study and dedication to saving vision. In urban and rural communities throughout the nation, today’s optometric physician serves as the primary eye care practitioner in individual or group practices, hospital settings, public health organizations, educa- tional institutions, and centers for vision research. NSU’s College of Optometry is the only optometric academic institution in the state of Florida. The College of Optometry admitted its charter class in 1989, and its graduates provide primary eye care as well as specialty care in such areas as contact lenses; ocular disease; low-vision rehabilitation; and binocular, geriatric, and pediatric vision evalu- ation and treatment. Furthermore, the college benefits from the integrated, interprofessional health care programs of the university’s Health Professions Division. The College of Optometry oers a fully accredited, full-time, four-year course of study leading to the Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree. The college also has established a five-year, extended program leading