Interview with HMX Participant Michael Sormrude

Michael Sormrude, DHS, is an adjunct professor in health science at universities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. As part of his dedication to continuous learning, Michael has completed nine HMX courses and is currently enrolled in two more to help him stay up to date with health care trends and assist with his teaching.

What are your job’s main responsibilities? How do educational opportunities support that?

As an adjunct professor, I am affiliated with many different biological and health science departments across different campuses and systems. One of the biggest responsibilities of that is connecting with the students who want to emerge as health professionals. Being connected with health care studies and information, as well as what is going on in current clinical and research settings, is very beneficial in developing knowledge with my students. As an educator, I need to know what clinicians and practitioners do to better aid my students.

What HMX course features did you find the most effective?

I really value the asynchronous teaching aspect because of the time constraints with my schedule. HMX has allowed me the freedom to really tailor my educational plan to meet my demands and the flexibility to adapt my schedule to any challenges that may arise.

Receiving feedback, whether it’s through discussion board postings or when you get a question wrong on a quiz, really helps me because I can go back and find more information about that topic. I also really enjoyed seeing the narrations, animations, and visuals.

Which of the HMX courses you have taken was your favorite? How do the different courses relate to each other?

I really like and enjoy the immunology series simply because I like cell communication, and that comes across in a lot of my teaching. That includes the different types of enzymes or proteins and cell signaling. Also, [that connects with the idea of] how we can aid that in a medical setting through medications and different treatments, even genetics or gene therapy. It is nice to find one given discipline and then branch out and explore those interconnected pieces.

I have taken a few genetics courses [with that objective], and they have given me the opportunity to teach genetics in other departments. I never thought I would be learning to be a genetic expert. Investing the time into the topic and following industry trends and professional standards is helping me professionally.

What advice would you offer to individuals considering enrolling in an HMX course?

HMX is face value – you get what you put into it. It is not a one-off program where it has all the answers. There is always more to find and become familiar with. That can be done by taking more HMX courses or just actively searching and connecting topics in the courses to research that is out there. That really opens up your world!