Thursday Feb. 20 had the star programs from schools from Washington state meet and greet to get exposure to the programs. Tables from last year that were a “huge hit” were the ones that had interactive activities such as the table from the ultrasound program from BC. Only eight colleges were eligible to go and 34 programs from schools submitted proposals to attend this event. LeAnn Schneider, class representative for the OB (obstetrics) and general track, stated, “The people who were there really excited about getting scanned would go tell their friends about it, and they were really excited about it. We were pretty much the biggest hit everyone wanted to come up and get scanned,” said Schneider. Staff from BC who attended included: Leslie Newquist, interim dean of Bellevue College, Terry Hatcher, diagnostic ultrasound chair and Joe Agustin, ultrasound instructor.
“During the event, while people were getting scanned, there were no medical problems found, thankfully,” Schneider continued. “Some people were close to having carpal tunnel but nothing too severe.”
Terry Hatcher was able to give more historical background on the ultrasound program. Since 1978, BC’s program has received notable attention from around the country, with student applications coming in from as far as Alaska. “There are not many ultrasound programs in the Pacific Northwest and BC has a good reputation and is recognizable to other medical people in the area. There were 160 applicants, out of the 160 only 140 were interviewed and then only 28 were chosen,” said Schneider.
“You do not have to be already going to BC to apply to the program, a lot of students that were accepted took their prerequisites elsewhere and came to BC specifically for the ultrasound program,” Schneider continued. BC gives them the opportunity to apply to this program, which is one of the few of its kind. Along with being accredited last year by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, the department is already in the process of being accredited this year by JRCDMS, with the ultrasound program slated to get renewed accreditation in March. JRCDMS will be coming to campus to evaluate the program and to make sure the program doing what is said to have been doing. “We are all very confident and don’t see any issues that would stop us from being accredited,” Schneider mentioned. It is important to note the addition of a vascular track to the department as well as the construction of a new health sciences building set to be complete in 2015. The event was a success at showcasing one of BC’s star medical programs offered to students. For more information about how to be a part of the program visit the BC website at www.bellevuecollege.edu/ultrasound/