Two factors drove creation of the new Center for Health Science at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. One was the poor fit between what some students studied and what they wanted to do. The other was the need for people in health care professions - people other than doctors and nurses.

The center, which opened this fall, is not a building but a program to train people who want to be physician assistants, occupational therapists or physical therapists, for example. For many of these occupations a bachelor's degree is no longer sufficient for professional practice, so the university is offering a degree in health science to give students the basic education they need for graduate programs, said Penny Lyter. She is chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Athletics, and one of the people who started the new center.

The university offers degrees in biology and in physical education and training, but for students looking at allied health professions those don't quite work.

A health-care student doesn't need the calculus required for biologists, professors said, and physical education degrees don't include the chemistry and physiology classes that health students need to understand the human body.

To use these other degrees for admission to professional health schools, students often spent extra semesters taking the necessary extra courses.

"We just saw all these students who were pursing two degrees at the same time, and it wasn't efficient for them to do that," said Bryan Lewis. He is an adjunct professor of biology, advises students in the pre-health program and, with Lyter, developed the idea for the center and the new health science major.

Not to mention, Lyter said, that students at Parkside are more likely to have outside jobs than students at other UW campuses.

Carmel Ruffolo, a biology professor and director of the new center, sees a particular advantage for her nursing students - not for the students who are accepted for nurse training but for those who aren't.

Of the 85 to 100 students in the basic anatomy and physiology class, Ruffolo said, about 70 percent say they want to be nurses, and that's been the case for the last five to seven years.

But only 28 slots are open every year for UWP's nursing program, which is offered in conjunction with UW-Milwaukee, and that means many applicants don't make it.

"And so now you have all these students to do what?" Ruffolo asked. "Most of these students who want to become nurses are interested in the health field."

So, the Parkside professors reasoned, why not open their eyes to other possibilities.

The students

That is exactly where Ashley Westerlund of Twin Lakes found herself. The 21-year-old student transferred to Parkside for this year after spending three years at at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying and hoping to be a nurse. She applied to both Madison's and Parkside's nursing programs and wasn't accepted to either.

"And I was kind of stuck with, 'What am I going to do now?' I could stay at Madison and just get a biology degree, but I didn't want to do that," she said.

She said she found out about the Parkside program through Lewis and enrolled with the idea of becoming a physical therapist.

"I just feel like coming here they'll give you more centralized schooling and a better look at what you can go into than just having a basic biology degree that leaves you thinking."

"It allows you to stretch out and try even looking at some different types of career choices as well," said Racquel Grashen. She is 19 and from Kenosha, and plans to pursue physical therapy graduate training at either Marquette University or Concordia University Wisconsin. She's always wanted to be a physical therapist, an interest born of childhood therapy for scoliosis and more therapy after she tore a knee ligament during high school basketball.

"If they go to another school and get into their nursing program, I'd call that a success," Lewis said. "But if they drop out, I'd say we've lost resources."

The program

The health science program puts students through basic courses in chemistry, biology, anatomy, and physiology. In later terms they take courses matching their specialty of interest and must do field work in that specialty. Students take a business course, too, because practitioners in many of these fields have the option to open their own offices.

The introductory course comes early enough that students can switch to another field if they find health care isn't for them, Ruffolo said. And offering a degree which is a better fit for students' needs not only helps them establish their lives but also helps the university retain them, Lyter said.

Future plans

Because the university's center is a center, there will probably more than just one degree offered in the future. Already the professors are considering adding another concentration for the health science degree. That would be in gerontology to prepare people for graduate study in the management of nursing homes and other facilities that aren't hospitals, Ruffolo said.

When Lewis, Lyter, and Ruffolo worked out ideas for the degree program in preparation for a presentation to the UW System, they projected a first year enrollment of 30 students and a third year enrollment of 40. Near the end of January, 43 students had declared a major in health science. A few days later, the number had changed.

"I'm looking at two right here," Lewis said, touching a pair of declaration of major forms on a table, "so 45."