The College of Dental Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences announced the upcoming launch of VirtualU@WesternU in April 2014.
VirtualU@WesternU assists dental schools and other health care educational programs in navigating integrating online learning and digital course enhancements at their home institutions, as well as provides integration support services. The university’s goal is to increase access to advanced training and support for dentists.
The online content will include pre-developed courses for the health sciences curriculum as well as the capability to customize existing courses. VirtualU@WesternU will also provide web-based continuing education courses for individuals and groups of existing practitioners.
The initial catalog of dental titles will include online courses in medical emergencies for dental personnel, local anesthesia administration, along with a variety of prosthodontic and implant modules.
Multiple content offerings are in development and will be announced as they become available.
“From its inception, the College of Dental Medicine at WesternU has embraced a heritage of innovation in dental education. Although online education by itself is no longer truly innovative, VirtualU@WesternU represents a pioneering approach to successfully integrating virtual learning into the world of health care education,” said Dr. Steven W. Friedrichsen, dean of the College of Dental Medicine. VirtualU@WesternU represents one more way that the College of Dental Medicine is demonstrating growing leadership in dental education.
Western University of Health Sciences developed a multi-tiered partnership that includes ICE Health Systems (ICE). ICE provides a comprehensive, online practice and learning management system as well as the technology and platform for the primary course offerings. The accessibility and availability of external technology platforms will allow VirtualU@WesternU to deliver a broad array of program levels.
“ICE is very pleased to work with Western University of Health Sciences to provide this innovative service for dental professionals,” said Dr. Mark Genuis, CEO of ICE Health Systems. “WesternU’s virtual learning initiatives will substantially increase access to advanced training and support for dentists, which will inevitably result in better health for patients. WesternU is demonstrating tremendous leadership by enabling dentists to utilize state of the art technology for learning while maintaining their current patients and revenue stream.”
For more information or to get further details on this program, please visit www.westernu.edu/dentistry or contact [email protected].
