CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 42, No. 58
August 13, 2008
Health Care Education Group Adopts New Name
MoSAHOE is now MHSTE
A teacher organization formerly known as the Missouri State Association of Health Occupations Education (MoSAHOE) recently approved a name change. The vote was held last month during the group’s annual meeting at the Missouri Association of Career and Technical Education in Springfield.
The association is now known as Missouri Health Sciences and Technology Education (MHSTE). The new name is pronounced “misty.” The membership comprises of more than 200 secondary and postsecondary health care educators across the state.
“The name change aligns the name of our state organization with that of the National ACTE Health Sciences Division,” said MHSTE President Tracy Lock, RN, BSN, a health sciences instructor in the health services technology program at Grand River Technical Center, Chillicothe.
With a bit of levity, she further explained the group liked the idea of an acronym pronounced “misty” over one that sounds like a garden tool.
Health sciences and technology educators prepare youth and adults for such careers as nursing, dental hygiene and dental assistant, medical transcriptionist, radiologic technologist, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, respiratory care and medical technician, as well as for careers requiring advanced degrees, such as biotechnology engineering, physicians, and medical researchers.
Through membership with MHSTE, health sciences teachers are able to stay current on changes in technology and safety standards; address health care provider and teacher shortages; and assure that current educational offerings provide students with the academic, technical and leadership skills they need to meet industry demands.
MHSTE provides teachers a statewide communication network that keeps members informed of policies, plans and issues impacting career and technical education. The organization also provides opportunities for updating professional skills through workshops, conferences and continuing education units.
The Division of Career Education of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education works closely with MHSTE, a division of the Missouri Association of Career and Technical Education, to support health sciences teachers with high-quality professional development and technical assistance. Emily Harper is DESE’s designated representative for MHSTE.
In other action, MHSTE members elected Shelly Wehmeyer, RN, BSN, as the organization’s 2008-09 president-elect. She is coordinator of the practical nursing program at the Eldon Career Center.