As the fall semester draws to a close, a few noteworthy changes will be happening within select campus departments next semester.
The most notable change will be in the Student Health Center, located in the Shire Mods. Administrative Director and Nurse Practitioner Gidget Wood shared a groundbreaking advancement in motion for next semester.
“We have big changes—we are currently implementing an electronic medical record,” Wood said.
This means everything in the office will be going digital to speed up the process of helping patients. Students will no longer have to sign-in on a sheet of paper, but rather check themselves in on an iPad in the waiting room. Any essential paperwork will be completed and transferred digitally to the chart in the patient’s room.
“The nice thing about this is that in January, there will be a patient portal called ‘My Cougar Health,’ so every student will be able to log onto that and access [his or her] records for download and also upload records,” Wood said. “The most exciting thing is that we’ll have self-scheduling available on their student portal, so they will be able to make an appointment at any time.”
Wood explained that not having to call or visit the office will make appointment scheduling more accommodating for students. Students will be able to log onto their portal and digitally schedule to meet with a practitioner.
Another area undergoing change is the General Education (G.E.) requirement, according to SGA President and senior physics major Max Walden.
“Students who are currently on the old G.E. curriculum will have the availability to switch over,” Walden said. “There are some different requirements based on [their] major that will have changed.”
Specifics of the G.E. changes have not been revealed yet, but the proposition has been set in place for next semester.
Walden also explained that there will be a “Wall of Nations” constructed in Duke Academic Complex, where different flags of students from other countries will be displayed. This will be prepared for during spring semester, though it will not be started until summer.
As for the Women’s Resource Center, senior psychology major and undergraduate intern Madeline Ho said that the only change is that they will be looking to hire a new administrator, as the current administrator is graduating this semester.
With these changes ahead, students can look forward to seeing a few new things around campus beginning in the spring 2016 semester.