Are you bored with the rudimentary tasks of dental hygiene day after day? Do you want to take on more challenges? Do you want to become a leader in your organization or profession? Do you sometimes wish you had a different job? Do you have a desire to expand your knowledge or your “self”? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it may be time for you to return to school to earn your bachelor’s or master’s degree. But do you have family obligations, financial considerations, or time constraints that could keep you from achieving this goal? Think again! With the advent of online education programs, obtaining another degree is easier than you can imagine!

Acquiring an education online allows you to study at your convenience - late in the evening, early in the morning, at home, in the office, or on vacation. Some online programs allow you to learn at your own pace, while others provide professor-directed and paced education. In both cases, you determine the time and place where you study, because all you need is a computer and access to the Internet!

According to the American Dental Hygienists Association, as of Nov. 2006, 22 degree completion dental hygiene programs are available online. Programs run the gamut, providing as few as one class to nearly every required class online. Six universities offer distance-learning programs, where students never even have to visit the campus. One such institution is Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. NSU offers online Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc), Master of Health Science (MHSc), and Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) degree programs specifically designed to allow health professionals such as dental hygienists to obtain their degrees while continuing to work.

The advantages of these NSU programs over others are:

1. NSU and its degree programs are accredited

2. The BHSc and MHSc programs are designed for completion in a 100 percent online format and require no on-campus time

3. Coursework is professor-directed and professor-paced - not correspondence coursework

4. Qualified faculty consists of health educators and health professionals

5. Previous credit hours are transferable

6. Courses are offered on a 12-week semester calendar, allowing students four terms a year in which to take classes

7. This is not another dental hygiene degree, but a degree that can provide increased educational and career opportunities to the hygienist.

The curricula are designed to build upon the existing knowledge of the health-care professional while focusing on current issues that impact health care today. The courses of study are interdisciplinary and designed to provide career and academic advancement opportunities for health-care practitioners, as well as deliver a well-rounded curriculum. Health-care management, diversity, research, and education are a few of the areas that might be of special interest to dental hygiene professionals. Another highlight of the BHSc curriculum is that it dovetails with the demands of the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practicum (ADHP) at the master’s level.

Another advantage of the program was determined by the Web-based Education Commission, which was appointed by President Clinton in Nov. 1999. The Commission identified that Web-based education could center learning around the student instead of the classroom, focus on the strengths and needs of individual students, and make lifelong learning a reality.1 Many studies have demonstrated that there is not a significant difference in Web-based and classroom-based learning. The commission also stated, “The Internet is perhaps the most transformative technology in history, reshaping business, media, entertainment, and society in astonishing ways. But for all its power, it is just now being tapped to transform education.”

Distance learning is becoming the rage among professionals who have demanding lives. Lisa Garcia-Heintskill knows this. She lacks two courses in order to earn her MHSc degree. Here are her comments.

Briefly, share your work experience before you decided to go for further schooling.

Prior to entering the MHSc program, I was working full time in private practice and part time at NSU as an adjunct faculty member in the dental clinic while raising my family. After being around some of the most amazing faculty and students at NSU, I decided I wanted more for my career and myself, and I chose higher education.

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