Diversifying the Healthcare Workforce

Access to quality healthcare is essential in every size community. Careers in healthcare are stable and offer ample opportunity for both the young professional and for continued career growth. However, retaining and offering proper training for this diverse workforce is a complicated situation in the APEX Region.

In April 2021, APEX convened 30 regional healthcare leaders, economic developers, educational leaders and educators to begin collaborating on solutions for building a stronger healthcare sector. Key solutions include:

1. Education – Collaboration and synergy between community/technical schools, colleges and universities and their respective accrediting bodies to develop better pathways with “stackable” and transferable credentials, resulting in more efficient career growth for employees.
2. Clinical Space – Develop location-based partnerships to offer flexible scheduling of existing clinical space resulting in higher utilization and increased student access.
3. K-12 Curriculum – Public school districts to better incorporate career and technical education and career pathways into the K-12 curriculum.
4. Career Promotion – Current registered nurse output exceeds regional needs. Promote healthcare careers in related fields including technicians, managers and MedTech innovation opportunities.
5. Speed of Acceleration
   1. Nimble curriculum development and accreditation to meet rapid rate of change
   2. IoT in Healthcare and Virtual Healthcare moving forward

In a highly skilled industry like healthcare, training and education are the top priority. While the region has several educational institutions with healthcare programs, healthcare leaders and partners need to work together to encourage career growth from within healthcare systems and inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals. By sharing the multitude of career pathway possibilities within this sector, interest can pique sooner.