The Biobehavioral Health (BBH) Program at PSU-LV provides students a strong foundation in the facets of healthcare for flexibility in following their desired career paths including, 但不限于, 比如医学院, PA学校, 或者物理治疗.
宾州中央谷. — As a high school student, Gabriela Cavalheiro gravitated toward art and math. 她喜欢科学，但不知道自己喜欢什么. 她当然从未考虑过从事与科学相关的职业. That all changed when she started classes in the biobehavioral health (BBH) program at 中国博彩平台 (PSU-LV).
Cavalheiro was free to turn her casual interest in science into something greater, 她说.
“这就是我对科学和研究的热爱的来源，”她说. “I took four BBH courses in one semester, and thought, ‘This really isn’t too bad.’”
Cavalheiro said she chose PSU-LV because the idea of attending a larger school seemed daunting.
“PSU-LV似乎是一个安全的选择. 我知道我会在学业上得到照顾，”她说. "Going to a branch campus would provide me with the same classes and opportunities, 但规模较小. It was important to me to build relationships with my teachers and classmates.”
Cavalheiro said she chose the BBH program in particular because of its applicability to so many areas.
“It was described to me as a career that could open many doors,”她说。. “直到大三我才知道自己想做什么.”
现在大四了, Cavalheiro is enrolled in PSU-LV’s accelerated five-year Master of Public Health (MPH) program with the goal of working in global or public health. Students enrolled in the MPH program complete three full years of courses at PSU-LV, a fourth year taking courses in-person at PSU-LV and virtually by the Hershey College of Medicine, and the fifth year taking courses in-person or online at the Hershey College of Medicine.
“I pursued the master’s in global health because that’s what interested me most,”她说。. “这是它的可访问性. (这个学位)是我无论如何都能达到的. 但入场费更低, 我可以在大四和之后的一年里做到这一点, and it was adjustable to my schedule — those were the reasons why I was able to do it.”
BBH的校友, 阿萨德(Soma Asad)对自己的未来并不完全清楚, 但她有一张清单，上面列出了她在职业生涯中想要什么和不想要什么.
“I knew I wanted to be in healthcare and didn’t want to be a bio major,” Asad said. “我不想上400到500级的生物课程. I liked the clinical aspect of health care but knew I didn’t want to be a doctor. 这需要很多的学校教育. 我喜欢在野外工作, 所以当我听说医师助理, 我觉得听起来很适合我. 我很喜欢当主管，这样我就可以和病人见面了, 但如果我有问题，我可以咨询医生.”
Another “nice to have” on Asad’s checklist was finding a school close to home that could accommodate her career plans, 她说. PSU-LV’s BBH program checked all the existing boxes and even a few not on her list. The program was broad enough to apply to a variety of healthcare careers, yet specific enough to align with Asad’s professional goal of being a physician assistant.
“I picked a major that would allow me to take all my prerequisites at PSU-LV for PA学校,”她说。. 第一代大学生, Asad was familiar with Penn State’s reputation and knew the PSU-LV campus well, 因为她姐姐是校友.
2017年PSU-LV毕业生, Asad started her PA studies at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in 2020. 她在PSU-LV培养的基本技能, combined with her practical nature and work ethic prepared her for the next phase of her education. Still, 她说, jumping into the reality of graduate school was an adjustment. “I don’t think you’re 100 percent prepared until you get into the program,”她说。.
与阿萨德不同，杰拉德·弗拉特知道他想成为一名物理治疗师.
“我最初关注的是健康和人类康复, 但当我告诉一位(PSU-LV)顾问我想去PT学校时, 他们建议我参加BBH项目,他说. The holistic knowledge he acquired about the human body was Flatt’s biggest takeaway.
“There’s a lot more that goes into influencing human health besides biology,他说. “[In the BBH program] we learned about the mind/body connection and psychology, 以及它对我们身心健康的影响, as well as the socioeconomic factors that have large implications on human health. 即使在我的研究生学习中，它对我也非常有用. It’s been good to know about the joints and have a broader understanding of how all these factors shape human health. You don’t just treat the person’s deficiencies — you treat the whole person.”
The program’s versatility and applicability to countless health- and medical-related careers makes it attractive to students looking to work directly with patients or the public, 萨曼莎·毕比说, BBH项目协调员, 助理教学教授, 以及加速公共时速项目的协调员.
“BBH is kind of a perfect marriage of the traditional biological view of health and public health, so it really prepares students to look at the underlying causes rather than the surface issues,”她说。. “这是多视角, holistic approach that gives students the edge when they’re competing for those sacred professional school seats because they have surveyed health and wellness from a biological, 心理, 环境, 贯穿人类一生的文化和全球视角. 他们了解健康的复杂性.”
