(January 25, 2017) KANSAS CITY, MO – Avila University will begin offering a new major beginning in the fall of 2017. Healthcare Communication is a Bachelor of Arts degree that will be offered through the School of Visual and Communication Arts.
“Healthcare Communication careers are growing exponentially across the United States and the Avila University Healthcare Communication program is designed for those students who want to work in the health-relevant field, but direct-patient care is not where they want to be,” said Nicole Esquibel, MFA, Assistant Professor and Dean of the School of Visual and Communication Arts at Avila.
The success of healthcare largely depends on effective communication. Jobs that require health communication skills in both non-profit and for-profit worlds are on the rise as the national healthcare system becomes increasingly complex. Avila University’s degree in healthcare communication will expand the students understanding of health-related issues so they can make an impact in an office, hospital, clinic, or other healthcare settings.
“The Avila program will equip students with the tools necessary to design, produce, analyze and evaluate media products, strategies, procedures and content delivery for individuals, organizations, corporations in the health-related industry,” said Esquibel.
Upon graduation, students can use their degree to seek positions in healthcare sectors such as operations director, health educator, marketing or public relations professional, communication consultant, or patient and family advocate.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs in public relations and marketing are both expected to increase by 12 percent through 2022, while health educators and community health workers are predicted to increase 21 percent over the same time period.
The Avila degree will be one of the few undergraduate health communication degrees in the United States. Students will pursue the healthcare communications degree while gaining the knowledge and skills to enter the healthcare workforce. Graduates will be prepared to develop health communication campaigns, create health communication messages appropriate to a variety of contextual factors and apply principles of risk and crisis communication to the context of public health.
For more information, visit www.www.avila.edu.
Avila University, a Catholic University sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, is a values-based community of learning providing liberal arts, professional, undergraduate and graduate education to prepare students for responsible, lifelong contributions to the global community. Our approach to education brings out the best in our students, so they can bring out the best in others.