Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
GW Sonography Alumni 04/24/2014
Jeffrey S. Akman, M.D.
Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Vice President for Health Affairs
The George Washington Univeristy
Joseph M Bocchino, EdD.
Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
The George Washington University
We want to thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the GW Sonography Community.
As you know, GW Sonography alumni were very disappointed to find out the program was going to be terminated for good. Since we believe the actions taken to be unfair, we would like to address three points in your letter directly and then ask for some additional clarifications, which take the form of questions we have received from GW Sonography alumni.
First, to quote from your letter:
“The decision to discontinue the program was made after careful evaluation of health market changes, pressures on institutions of higher learning, and assessment of other educational institutions in our community.”
This makes it clear that the Sonography program was closed due to financial reasons, either from within the college itself or, more likely, from the larger university looking to cut programs that do not bring in significant amounts of money. In doing so, the university has failed to look at the larger implications of its decision: the Sonography program is one of GW health science programs that comprises diverse students who may not have been able to launch careers in health sciences . It is extremely disappointing that the university has decided to cater to the individuals who can pay full tuition over the needs of hard-working individuals who want to learn about an important health care field but come from modest means.
“We believe that the other institutions in the Washington, DC, area that offer Sonography preparation are well positioned to meet the ongoing needs of the profession.”
We alumni do not know every detail about the other D.C.-based higher education Sonography programs, but we are confident that GW’s is the most comprehensive and the best regarded. One can’t, on the one hand, say GW is the best school in the region and then, on the other hand, say other schools are just as good and can fill in the gaps.
“For all of our faculty and preceptors, while GW may not be providing the foundational training for your Sonographers going forward, we will be providing Sonographers with the opportunity to advance their managerial and leadership capabilities.”
If GW is going to close its Sonography program, and essentially discontinue the type of support it has been giving to Sonography graduates and DMV area communities, what are the types of programs GW plans to create to help Sonography graduates, and when will they begin? Will there be GW-supported health science job fairs? Low-cost or free management training seminars? Subscriptions to Sonography-related medical journals? Continuing education courses?
Second, additional Quastions .
1. Could you please elaborate further about who made the decision to close the program and why decisions were made without consulting with alumni and current students? Shouldn’t we have a say in the matter, or are these types of decisions solely made at the administrative level?
2. Had there been a discussion about other options for allowing the GW Sonography program to remain open? Maybe a joint program with another medical-relating subject, like ultrasound guidance of muscle-skeletal issues with physical therapy? Or, perhaps, with nursing with a focus on ultrasound if students want to do a dual program in being a nurse in an OB/GYN office, for example?
3. While the closure seems rather abrupt to us, what types of cost-cutting measures had been taken beforehand?
4. For the Sonography alumni, how can GW continue to provide the support for us in the community if the Sonography faculty and staff are not there anymore?
5. Are there any future plans of continuing or re-opening the program in the future?
In sum, GW provides more bridges to the medical community than the local colleges can provide; the university has more valuable resources and overlapping connection than other schools. Many GW alumni return as teaching assistants to share their wisdom of knowledge. The professors care about the subject matter and go beyond students’ expectations to ensure every aspect of ultrasound is understood for each and every Sonography student. And, finally, it opens up so many economic opportunities for its diverse cohort.
For these reasons and more, we hope you reconsider your decision to shutter the Sonography program at GW.
We are looking forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
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Updates
May 17, 2014
im still getting emails from alumni who are just as frustrated about the closure as i am. it feels like the university is hoping we will just move on but looking at these stories reminds me why we need to keep pushing back.
May 17, 2014
seeing this kind of momentum is honestly surreal and it really proves how many people care about saving this program. i never expected this much support when i first hit publish but now that we have it we really cant slow down.
4 Comments
PLEASE RECONSIDER. GW sonography gave me the best training and I dont know where else people are going to get that kind of quality instruction now. It makes no sense.
I feel this program should remain open. It provided excellent educational experiences, structures, and technique to allow future sonographers to become more enriched with passing on their knowledge to others. I'll admit it really shaped me to be prepared to go out into the real world and show off my skills.
We got this response for our petition ..! I donot know if it is good enough or not for our questions inside the petition ..! Dear We are reaching out to you in response to your signature on a petition that was posted by a fellow alum of the Sonography program. On March 14, 2014, a letter was sent to as many GW Sonography program stakeholders we could identify to relay some important news about the program. I have attached the letter for your reference in the event that you did not receive it when it was originally sent. At the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), we are proud of all of our graduates of the Sonography Program and we applaud your success. The graduating class of 2014 completed this past week. As stated in the letter, we have carefully evaluated changes in the market and have forged new partnerships with local academic institutions, which has lead us to determine that it is in the best interest of the school to discontinue enrolling students into the GW Sonography program. We do appreciate your concern and interest in this matter, and we will continue to support the profession through other educational initiatives. Our alumni affairs office is committed to support you as a valued member of the alumni community and will ensure that you are aware of any future initiatives that would be beneficial to the sonography and health care community. Sincerely, -- Joseph M. Bocchino, EdD Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences [email protected]
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
GW Sonography Alumni 04/24/2014
Jeffrey S. Akman, M.D.
Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Vice President for Health Affairs
The George Washington Univeristy
Joseph M Bocchino, EdD.
Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
The George Washington University
We want to thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the GW Sonography Community.
As you know, GW Sonography alumni were very disappointed to find out the program was going to be terminated for good. Since we believe the actions taken to be unfair, we would like to address three points in your letter directly and then ask for some additional clarifications, which take the form of questions we have received from GW Sonography alumni.
First, to quote from your letter:
“The decision to discontinue the program was made after careful evaluation of health market changes, pressures on institutions of higher learning, and assessment of other educational institutions in our community.”
This makes it clear that the Sonography program was closed due to financial reasons, either from within the college itself or, more likely, from the larger university looking to cut programs that do not bring in significant amounts of money. In doing so, the university has failed to look at the larger implications of its decision: the Sonography program is one of GW health science programs that comprises diverse students who may not have been able to launch careers in health sciences . It is extremely disappointing that the university has decided to cater to the individuals who can pay full tuition over the needs of hard-working individuals who want to learn about an important health care field but come from modest means.
“We believe that the other institutions in the Washington, DC, area that offer Sonography preparation are well positioned to meet the ongoing needs of the profession.”
We alumni do not know every detail about the other D.C.-based higher education Sonography programs, but we are confident that GW’s is the most comprehensive and the best regarded. One can’t, on the one hand, say GW is the best school in the region and then, on the other hand, say other schools are just as good and can fill in the gaps.
“For all of our faculty and preceptors, while GW may not be providing the foundational training for your Sonographers going forward, we will be providing Sonographers with the opportunity to advance their managerial and leadership capabilities.”
If GW is going to close its Sonography program, and essentially discontinue the type of support it has been giving to Sonography graduates and DMV area communities, what are the types of programs GW plans to create to help Sonography graduates, and when will they begin? Will there be GW-supported health science job fairs? Low-cost or free management training seminars? Subscriptions to Sonography-related medical journals? Continuing education courses?
Second, additional Quastions .
1. Could you please elaborate further about who made the decision to close the program and why decisions were made without consulting with alumni and current students? Shouldn’t we have a say in the matter, or are these types of decisions solely made at the administrative level?
2. Had there been a discussion about other options for allowing the GW Sonography program to remain open? Maybe a joint program with another medical-relating subject, like ultrasound guidance of muscle-skeletal issues with physical therapy? Or, perhaps, with nursing with a focus on ultrasound if students want to do a dual program in being a nurse in an OB/GYN office, for example?
3. While the closure seems rather abrupt to us, what types of cost-cutting measures had been taken beforehand?
4. For the Sonography alumni, how can GW continue to provide the support for us in the community if the Sonography faculty and staff are not there anymore?
5. Are there any future plans of continuing or re-opening the program in the future?
In sum, GW provides more bridges to the medical community than the local colleges can provide; the university has more valuable resources and overlapping connection than other schools. Many GW alumni return as teaching assistants to share their wisdom of knowledge. The professors care about the subject matter and go beyond students’ expectations to ensure every aspect of ultrasound is understood for each and every Sonography student. And, finally, it opens up so many economic opportunities for its diverse cohort.
For these reasons and more, we hope you reconsider your decision to shutter the Sonography program at GW.
We are looking forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Updates
May 17, 2014
im still getting emails from alumni who are just as frustrated about the closure as i am. it feels like the university is hoping we will just move on but looking at these stories reminds me why we need to keep pushing back.
May 17, 2014
seeing this kind of momentum is honestly surreal and it really proves how many people care about saving this program. i never expected this much support when i first hit publish but now that we have it we really cant slow down.
4 Comments
This program helped me get where I am today. Its a huge mistake to close it down when there is such a need for good people in the field.
PLEASE RECONSIDER. GW sonography gave me the best training and I dont know where else people are going to get that kind of quality instruction now. It makes no sense.
I feel this program should remain open. It provided excellent educational experiences, structures, and technique to allow future sonographers to become more enriched with passing on their knowledge to others. I'll admit it really shaped me to be prepared to go out into the real world and show off my skills.
We got this response for our petition ..! I donot know if it is good enough or not for our questions inside the petition ..! Dear We are reaching out to you in response to your signature on a petition that was posted by a fellow alum of the Sonography program. On March 14, 2014, a letter was sent to as many GW Sonography program stakeholders we could identify to relay some important news about the program. I have attached the letter for your reference in the event that you did not receive it when it was originally sent. At the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), we are proud of all of our graduates of the Sonography Program and we applaud your success. The graduating class of 2014 completed this past week. As stated in the letter, we have carefully evaluated changes in the market and have forged new partnerships with local academic institutions, which has lead us to determine that it is in the best interest of the school to discontinue enrolling students into the GW Sonography program. We do appreciate your concern and interest in this matter, and we will continue to support the profession through other educational initiatives. Our alumni affairs office is committed to support you as a valued member of the alumni community and will ensure that you are aware of any future initiatives that would be beneficial to the sonography and health care community. Sincerely, -- Joseph M. Bocchino, EdD Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences [email protected]
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This program helped me get where I am today. Its a huge mistake to close it down when there is such a need for good people in the field.