Today’s healthcare careers demand more than treating patients. They require critical thinking, strong character, and the confidence to step into real-world care.
Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) understands that today’s healthcare careers require more.
That’s why they prepare students with real-world training, mentorship, and values-driven education to enter the workforce ready and confident.
PLNU faculty mentor students through early clinical experience and hands-on learning. In doing so, they create future practitioners who are capable and service-minded leaders.
Healthcare education at PLNU is more than learning anatomy or memorizing treatment protocols. It’s about developing clinical judgment and communicating with patients. Students learn how to adapt to challenges and lead with empathy. PLNU students graduate ready for healthcare careers and lives rooted in purpose and service.
Mentorship That Shapes Future Healthcare Leaders
At PLNU, mentorship is built into every healthcare program. It plays a critical role in preparing students to meet the demands of today’s healthcare workforce with skill and integrity. Faculty across all programs blend academic excellence with spiritual mentorship and workforce readiness. Their goal is to guide students toward meaningful, purpose-driven careers in the healthcare industry.
The Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences offers students practical skills, including research, lab work, and clinical opportunities. Students receive hands-on training in a variety of internship and clinical settings, to improve their skills in physical and occupational therapy, medical sciences, athletic training, and other health care sectors. Small-group labs and cohort-based learning foster strong relationships between students and professors.
But student mentorship at PLNU goes beyond academics. PLNU students are known by name, supported in their goals, and guided through every stage of their journey.
Faculty walk alongside students personally, professionally, and spiritually. They offer insight, encouragement, and faith-informed leadership.
This relationship-focused model sets PLNU apart from other Christian colleges and health science programs with clinical experience. Students attend lectures and learn directly from faculty who actively work in the field.
For example, physician assistant (PA) students gain hands-on experience through:
- Clinical simulations led by licensed practitioners
- Community health screenings across San Diego
- Rotations at partner sites like Sharp Healthcare and the San Diego Padres’ training complex
These opportunities illustrate how PLNU’s program-specific mentorship ensures every student receives tailored support. Kinesiology majors explore sports rehab. PA students serve underserved populations. Future clinical counselors learn trauma-informed care strategies grounded in compassion, accountability, and a clear sense of purpose.
Why Mentorship in Healthcare Matters
Here are four reasons why mentorship in healthcare is so important:
It builds confidence in clinical skills.
Mentors play a key role during early learning experiences.
These include dissections, patient simulations, and skill-building labs. Hands-on learning moments like these help students apply classroom knowledge in practical ways.
Working together with experienced faculty or advanced peers, students gain early exposure to:
- Learning anatomy
- Clinical procedures
- Decision-making under pressure
- Patient communication and bedside manner
- Ethical reasoning in medical scenarios
This hands-on practice builds confidence for the demands of a healthcare career.
It encourages personal and professional growth.
Great healthcare providers need more than clinical knowledge. They must also be resilient, ethical, and emotionally intelligent. Mentors at PLNU model professionalism, integrity, and decision-making under pressure.
Through intentional conversations, students receive coaching on:
- Balancing coursework with life demands
- Making value-based career choices
- Exploring healthcare careers aligned with their strengths
- Navigating ethical challenges in patient care
- Developing emotional resilience
As one of the nation’s leading Christian colleges, PLNU integrates spiritual formation into this journey. Students learn to lead with humility, empathy, and a sense of purpose. These essential life skills shape students into well-rounded professionals long after graduation.
It reinforces compassionate care
Mentorship at PLNU teaches students to view patients as a whole rather than a clinical case.
PLNU equips future healthcare professionals to approach care through the lens of service. Mentors model how to listen first and ask thoughtful questions. Students learn to treat every individual with dignity.
The College of Health Sciences (CHS) Newsletter shares real-world examples of students delivering thoughtful, hands-on care through mentorship and training.
A few highlights include:
- Service in action: PA students packed 3,600 pounds of produce with Feeding San Diego and participated in the annual Point In Time count of San Diego’s unhoused population.
- Community leadership: The Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) organized volunteer events and will lead a campus-wide OT Month celebration with interactive activities.
- Expanded partnerships: PLNU continues to build relationships with organizations like the San Diego Football Club, Right to Dream Academy, and Sharp Healthcare’s Performance Center.
These experiences help PLNU students apply their training while serving with purpose and compassion.
It prepares students for real-world collaboration
Modern healthcare demands teamwork. And PLNU prepares students to thrive in collaborative environments.
Students across all programs participate in interdisciplinary projects, labs, and simulations that simulate clinical settings. PLNU’s PA programs with clinical experience prepare students to excel and work as team members effectively.
Recent highlights from the CHS Newsletter show collaboration in action:
- Graduate kinesiology students teamed up with alumni and Padres staff to run motion capture tech at MLB spring training.
- Students and faculty from multiple programs co-hosted a summit on purpose-driven, cross-disciplinary healthcare.
PLNU students learn to collaborate confidently and contribute to any healthcare team upon graduation.
Mentorship That Reflects PLNU’s Mission
PLNU views mentorship as a calling to invest in the next generation of healthcare professionals.
The mentorship model at PLNU reflects the university’s mission to support whole-person development. It nurtures intellectual growth, spiritual character, leadership, and a heart for service.
This commitment was recently demonstrated through the work of the Anatomy Learning Institute.
PLNU Physician Assistant (PA) students mentored a group of high-achieving California high schoolers preparing for the Anato-Bee National competition. Through hands-on learning with anatomical models and real materials, these PA students brought human anatomy to life.
This was more than a teaching moment for PLNU’s PAs. The experience reflected PLNU’s values and mission in action.
The PA students modeled what it means to lead with care and purpose. They inspired younger students to pursue careers in healthcare. Showing that the value of mentorship begins well before graduation.
“Mentorship isn’t just a bonus — it’s essential...It’s where clinical knowledge meets personal growth, and where future healthcare professionals are shaped not only by what they learn, but by who walks with them.” — Dr. Joy Balta, Director of the Anatomy Learning Institute
This philosophy is ingrained across PLNU’s health science, PA programs, and broader healthcare training. Faculty and alumni walk alongside students. They model excellence, accountability, and faith-centered leadership.
PLNU mentorship trains students for the technical challenges of the industry and the moral responsibility of care.
For students exploring how to prepare for a healthcare career, PLNU’s personalized approach — grounded in faith, mentorship, and field experience — offers the support they need to grow with purpose.
Explore Healthcare Programs at PLNU
PLNU’s healthcare training combines academic excellence with clinical experience and spiritual formation. They shape skilled and empathetic professionals ready to serve.
Do you want to improve lives through physical therapy, emotional counseling, and purposeful patient care? Are you seeking practical training and mentors who guide you into a career in healthcare? If so, PLNU offers a variety of pathways into impactful healthcare careers.
Some undergraduate and graduate programs include:
- Athletic Training
- Kinesiology
- Health Sciences
- Integrative Wellness
- School of Nursing
- Clinical Counseling
- Occupational Therapy
- Physician Assistant (PA) Education
From day one, students receive mentorship integrating faith, service, and clinical excellence. Are you ready to pursue a life of service and purpose in healthcare? Explore how PLNU can help you prepare for a career in healthcare with confidence, purpose, and servant leadership.