Happy Fall!
We hope you all had a great summer and are starting to enjoy all that fall has to offer. We know many of you are wearing multiple hats right now between your schooling, your kids remotely learning, the various structures of work environments, and many more. Please know that Walden wants to ensure you have all the necessary resources and please don’t hesitate to reach out to your academic advisor of contact one of us if you have any needs or questions.
Thank you
Dr. Shelley Armstrong, Dr. Kirsten Lupinski, and Dr. Tara Gallien
Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Nuru-Deen Mohammed (a.k.a Dr. Deen) is a healthcare management expert by training, an educator by temperament, and a consultant by choice. He has been teaching in higher education for the past five (5) years. Prior to joining Walden University, he was the Executive Director of Health Services Administration for the second largest University Hospital in Africa.
Dr. Deen has been in the field of healthcare for the past twenty years. Interestingly, his advanced degrees are all in business and management. His philosophy on health maintenance, and passion for health information management and clinical decision support has helped him to maintain a focus in the field for two decades.
Dr. Deen is a Certified High School Business Education Teacher from the State of Ohio. He is a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
As an educator, Dr. Deen believes he should create and impart knowledge, ideas, and actions that prepare students with the capabilities to advance their individual lives and careers, and to promote the worth, dignity, and development of society.
His areas of research include but are not limited to care coordination, technology influence of health, food, culture, and health – how the trio shapes our health.
Dr. Deen is a social change advocate and volunteers as the Vice president for Foundation and Development at the Phoenix Global Humanitarian Foundation.
Dr. Deen is a husband and a father. He enjoys soccer, traveling, and meditation.
Meet a Teaching Assistant
Raquel Hernandez is a Ph.D. student in the Public Health Epidemiology program at Walden University and serves as a Teaching Assistant for our Undergraduate Programs.
She decided to earn her Master’s in Public Health (MPH), spurred by her father's unexpected death in 2008 to MRSA. "He was a strong man, and in just a matter of one and a half weeks, this resistant strain took his life."
Additionally, her public health experience began years ago as a Community Health Worker, where she learned and saw firsthand how some communities were afflicted with barriers to care, quality care, medications, and resources. These health disparities nurtured her passion for earning her public health degree.
Raquel Hernandez received her Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She earned her MPH with a Health Education and Promotion concentration from Benedictine University and graduated with a 4.0 honors. She secured certification as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) in 2015 and holds active status. As a member of the American Public Health Association, her interests focus on disease prevention and management, population health, underserved communities, and health disparities. Most of her career has involved these pursuits in which she has led mid-size teams in day-to-day operations, organizational and performance expectations, and continuous improvement initiatives to improve cost measures. Her experience includes identifying and improving social determinants of care and for positive health outcomes. Her experience and passion have brought her to Walden as a social change agent in the Ph.D. program.
In her personal life, Raquel is married to a U.S. Marine veteran and is a proud mom of three children. Her 26-year-old daughter is an Assistant Manager for a loan company and lives independently alone. Her 12-year-old son is a 7th grader and loves to play his Xbox but is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Her 9-year-old is a little artist and lover of the fine arts. A 4-year-old Yorkie ("Harley"), baby Chihuahua ("Dougie"), and a turtle ("Covid") are part of the family. As such, Raquel is able to achieve her dreams of attaining a Ph.D. to expand her teaching endeavors into higher levels of academic teaching opportunities.
What can Career Services do for you?
Career Services is available for all students and alumni:
- Links to job and internship opportunities, sample resumes and cover letters, networking and interviewing strategies, webinars, student success stories, and other resources
- One-on-one advising where you and a Career Services Advisor collaborate to set action steps tailored to meet your specific goals
- Online networking and drop-in advising events
- iGrad Job Search and GoinGlobal job and internship search tools with U.S. based and global listings
- An OptimalResume career management system for students and alumni to build resumes, cover letters, career portfolios; and practice mock interviewing skills
- Live monthly webinars on a variety of career-related topics which are archived for viewing 24/7
APA-7 Lesson: Using et al. in Citations
See APA 7: 8.7; Table 8.1
APA 7 has simplified the rules for in-text citation of sources with multiple authors. Essentially, they’ve removed the portion of this rule where you list all authors in the first citation and use et al. in subsequent citations, and there are fewer categories of author groupings. The new guideline:
If you have one or two authors, you should list all the authors each time you refer to that source.
All citations: Dusek and Yong (2019)… or (Dusek & Yong, 2019)
If you have three or more authors, you should use list the primary author and et al. each time you refer to that source.
All citations (assuming there are three or more authors): Dusek et al. (2015)… or (Dusek et al., 2015)
This rule is now an either/or situation, rather than the somewhat complex decision tree required in APA 6. APA 7 effectively eliminates the extra guidelines that students (myself included) have found somewhat confusing and arbitrary.
New Blackboard Support Center for Students-
Starting with our Fall 2020 terms, a new “Blackboard Support Center” will be live and available to all Walden students. This Support Center will have the following features and be available for Student users only at this time:
- Categories of help topics for Blackboard support
- Access to the Charlotte Chatbot in Blackboard, for Student self-help on any other topics
- All other classroom support pages will continue to be available for students, as we look at use metrics and feedback about the tool
**Please refer any student questions or issues with this new Support Center to the Customer Care Team (CCT), support@mail.waldenu.edu.
Academic Writing Expectations for Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students develop academic writing skills over time. In each course, you will gain more understanding about how to use appropriate and relevant content to develop and explore ideas in writing. Read on for specific writing standards at each bachelor's course level (1000-4000).
Reliable Health Website
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been front and center the last few months as we continue to fight COVID-19. Yes, they are the government association that works around the clock to protect America. According to the CDC, their mission is, “to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same. CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, CDC conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise” (CDC, 2020). However, they also provide you and I with a vast amount of reliable and valuable health information on various topics and issues. The CDC is an excellent resource to help with your academic assignments and personal health issues and questions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Mission, role, and pledge.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Walden Library: COVID-19: Where can I get reliable information?
Walden Student Resources
- Walden has put together an Academic Experiences-COVID-19 webpage to assist students at this time.
- The Walden University Library is an excellent resource. Librarians are available to everyday to assist you in building library skills, webinars, and their popular Ask A Librarian.
- The Walden University Writing Center is available to help you with any of your writing needs. The Writing Center is your go to resource for all APA needs and questions, provides paper/assignment reviews, a live chat, and numerous instructional modules.
- Career Services is available to assist with career options, resume development, and job searches.
- Disability Services is available for students that need assistance with accessibility. In addition, they offer free mental health support, confidential counseling, and help managing stress.
- Student Success Advisors are your academic advisors that are available to assist you with scheduling, understanding Walden policies and procedures, connecting you to other Walden resources, and ensuring your academic success. Student Success uses the following email and it will then be directly routed to the Undergraduate Advisors in the School of Health Sciences: studentsuccess@mail.waldenu.edu
Contact Us
Dr. Shelley Armstrong, Academic Program Director
Shelley.armstrong@mail.waldenu.edu
Dr. Kirsten Lupinski, Academic Program Coordinator (Course-Based)
Kirsten.lupinski@mail.waldenu.edu
Dr. Tara Gallien, Academic Program Coordinator (Tempo)