Students learn health-related skills quickly at GFC MSU

Military spouse Taylor Sharp was looking to graduate in a career field that would transfer well when her husband, who is a member of the U.S. Air Force, shifts to a new assignment, so she became a dental assistant through the 11-month program at Great Falls College Montana State University.

“Classes were somewhat difficult, but interesting enough that I wanted to study and learn,” said Sharp, 25, who recently completed school and an externship in a dental office. “I was a little nervous when I started at the dentist’s office, but then realized I had learned how to do these things in school.”

Katie Halmes, 21, was completing a year of mostly science and medical prerequisite classes at GFC MSU and looking for a career field in which she “could help people every single day.”

Halmes, a Cascade High School graduate, enrolled in the college’s physical therapy assistant program and has thrived.

It’s a one-year program, after the one year of prerequisites are met. The physical therapy assistant training is split between course studies and laboratory work, plus three internships.

Halmes said she particularly enjoyed her last internship stint at Benefis Rehabilitation Center, “and the challenge of treating patients with real health needs instead of working mock sessions on my fellow students who are young and healthy.”

Sharp and Halmes are just beginning to apply for jobs as they complete their final requirements. GFC MSU officials say they can expect to find work soon in fields that pay well.

At a time when national, experts as well as parents and students, are concerned that college students are racking up long-term college loan debts that may haunt them for years, shorter college stints may be part of the solution.

GFC MSU’s one- and two-year programs “are designed to get students in and out of school quickly with the learning and skills they need to make a livable wage,” said Lew Card, executive director for development, communications and marketing.

Starting wages for dental assistants are between $13 and $15 an hour, said Robin Williams, the school’s dental assistant program director. The median wage for dental assistants in Montana is $16 an hour, or more than $33,000 a year, according to a survey by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

The starting wages for physical therapy assistant is $18 to $21 an hour, said Michael Hansell, clinical coordinator for the GFC MSU program. The median Montana wage for PTAs is $23.40 an hour, or $49,000 a year, according to the MDLI survey.

GFC MSU offers 15 medically related careers. Both the dental assistant and physical therapy assistant programs are one of only two accredited programs in the state, with graduates drawing interest from dentists and physical therapists around the state.

Williams graduated from GFC MSU’s dental assistant program in 1987 and worked 12 years in the field before getting an advanced degree and going into teaching.

“I loved being a dental assistant,” she said. “You’re able to work closely with the dentists as they examine patients and do such solo tasks as taking X-rays, doing sealant work, teaching patients good oral health care and sometimes being in charge of the office’s sterilization and infection control programs.”

The school enrolls up to 18 dental assistant students a year. Most are female, usually ranging from late teens to mid-40s. It’s a job with good pay and hours and one that’s in demand, making it easy to move to new cities.

Hansell said he was an athlete growing up and injured enough that he was “a frequent flier for physical therapy sessions.” He chose to become a PTA to help athletes and other patients. He has been a PTA for 12 years, working at physical therapist clinics in Great Falls and Fort Benton and a hospital in Shelby.

Physical therapists do the initial analysis of patients and outline their treatment plan, he said, and PTAs do much of the follow-up work including manual therapy, ultra sound treatments, teaching therapeutic exercises and demonstrating use of canes and walkers.

GFC MSU accepts up to 20 PTA students at a time, and often has an even mix of male and female students, ranging in age from early 20s to early 40s. Many students become PTAs as a second career, including some retiring from the military.

To learn more

There are still enrollment spots for fall semester in the Great Falls College MSU dental assistant and physical therapist assistant programs. To learn more about those or other GFC MSU programs, call admissions at 268-3700, or visit admissions.gfcmsu.edu. The fall semester application deadline is Aug. 24 for new students and Aug. 26 for current students. Classes begin Aug. 29.

The average estimated cost for a Montana resident student at GFC-MSU is $4,530 a year, counting tuition, fees, books and other supplies. The number does not include room and board.

To learn more information about the full estimated cost of attendance and all other details for resident, nonresident and distance students, go to http://finaid.gfcmsu.edu/costofattendance.html.