One of the biggest threats to our healthcare system is how difficult it is to find, recruit, and retain healthcare workers. Today, healthcare providers are doing everything they can put the right people in empty roles:

• External recruiting and marketing efforts to get the word out to incumbent workers,

• Internal development to train and retain the employees they already have, and

• Investing in new generations of talent coming up through the world of postsecondary education.

Competition is steep among employers looking at these three groups: everyone wants to keep the talent they have from looking at other job options while also being “the other job option” for workers or students in the market for fresh work.

This means that employers who can find untapped or less-accessed pools of interested talent will have an advantage while labor shortages persist. And because a large array of healthcare jobs do not require postsecondary education, healthcare providers have the opportunity to attract and recruit high school students before they pursue college or other career pathways.

And when we talk about recruiting high school students for entry-level allied health and health IT jobs, we have to talk about career and technical education (CTE).

CTE in the US is very well established. It’s grown in prominence and favor over the past decade:

• Every state has increased CTE funding and career education enjoys favor from both sides of the policy aisles.

• A 2017 study from K12 and Edge Research found that most Americans believe that high school students should have more opportunities to develop technical and career-oriented skills while they are still in high school.

• In January (2023) an ECMC survey found that 35% of high school students do not believe postsecondary education is essential. Further, 63% are willing to consider non-four-year degree options, but most don’t really know what those options are. Much of this is evidenced by the popularity of high-school-based CTE.

• According to the NCES, a staggering 90% of high school students take at least one CTE course.

That’s all good news for healthcare providers thinking about expanding their recruiting efforts to high school students. All the data and evidence show they will certainly find an audience that is ready and willing to hear about career opportunities—and how to take advantage of them.

But for all of this eagerness, there are still a few hurdles that need to be overcome.

1. Even though students are more aware of different career pathways and opportunities, they still aren’t sure what is right for them. This is going to be true of both CTE and four-year programs.

2. Second, students still face a lot of pressure to go the traditional four-year degree route. A 2022 study from Lightcast and Tallo reported that many students still feel pressure to stay away from areas like the trades largely. Society places such a high premium on going away to college to get that bachelor’s degree right after high school. If they choose CTE instead, many fear that peers, parents, and the labor market itself will look down on them. Further, they also believe that they will not be able to realize the same quality of life.

3. Finally, CTE courses face a significant teacher shortage. High schools are willing to offer courses but have a hard time finding people qualified to teach and lead these programs.

How MedCerts’ Healthcare Training Program can help you remove obstacles between learners and your open roles

To access the pool of high school talent, we need to figure out how to help these students enter the world of healthcare without anxiety and worry.

Helping students understand outcomes

The first thing we need to do when it comes to CTE, and allied health programs more specifically, is to help students overcome their own objections. Again, these objections are largely related to a lack of clarity and information: students have a hard time visualizing what they’ll be able to do, and they don’t have responses to mentors and friends who also can’t see the possibilities.

To help them get clarity, we have to educate them:

1. Be very clear about the courses being offered and how they can lead to solid labor market outcomes. As the data above suggest, students are very open to alternative (or non-four-year degree routes). They just need to be able to see and understand exactly what that means. This will equip them with a clear vision of what they are getting into, the connection between what they are learning and the work they will be doing, and what they need to do to actually become qualified to pursue the career in question.

2. Help them answer the objections. If you do the first part well, it will help them do the second (and perhaps more important part) next. If they understand what the programs are, what they will be learning, and what this learning sets them up to do, they will be able to turn around and talk to their peers, parents, and others who might be concerned. If a student has a strong answer about their CTE choice, they will likely be a lot more confident when people question them.

3. Help them understand that choosing a career path doesn’t eliminate or limit their ability to pursue a four-year degree. This last point is vital. If a student opts for CTE programs, it should be seen as a starting point and not some finale to their lives. The whole point of career and technical education is to help a person open up a door to the world of work in an expedient and linear way. And just because a student decides to go this route, it doesn’t take away their ability to build toward a bachelor’s degree. In many ways, it actually helps it!

How MedCerts’ Healthcare Training Program Addresses Students’ Concerns

The MedCerts Healthcare Training Programs are highly directed and specific. We offer 15 educational pathways to 15 high-demand jobs:

1. Dental assistant

2. Medical billing specialist

3. Medical front office administration specialist

4. Pharmacy technician specialist

5. Electronic health records specialist

6. Medical assistant

7. Phlebotomy technician

8. EKG technician

9. Medical scribe professional

10. Medical laboratory assistant

11. Patient care technician

12. Health unit coordinator

13. Sterile processing technician

14. Surgical technologist

15. Physical therapy aide

Each program comes with a detailed description of what they will learn, how long it will take, how much it costs, and, of course, what career they will be prepared to pursue. Further, they can see what certificate they will gain via the program. And note, all of MedCerts programs are available online 24/7 so students can fit the coursework into their already busy schedules.

The online nature of the programs is a major selling point:

1. Students can participate in the program without having to travel to a specific location. If they don’t have a car or lack the flexibility to travel to another location to complete their coursework, online options are a must.

2. Many brick-and-mortar CTE programs are full. MedCerts’ programs never fill up. The online option allows us to serve as many students as you can enroll in a program. No limits.

Students who go through these programs will also be connected to businesses that are eager to hire people with the solid training and nationally recognized certifications they earn.

All of this information will give students greater certainty and clarity about their path and will help them give solid answers to those who might question their choice. In many ways, they will have more certainty about their future than students who take the four-year path!

What’s also great about these K12 programs is that students can enroll in them when they are in 11th grade. They can start to take the courses when they are juniors. As they progress through their senior year (and when they turn 18) they can sit for the national certification (or earlier if approved by the credentialing body). When they graduate, they will be career-ready, prepared to take a well-paying job right out of high school.

And when it comes to furthering their education, a growing number of colleges and universities are willing to offer credit for completed MedCerts programs. This means that students can gain college credit for the work they did while they were still in high school. This gives them a tremendous leg up when and if they want to pursue a four-year degree.

Benefits to High Schools

To conclude, let’s also consider a few of the benefits that local school districts and healthcare providers should consider. One of the biggest objections that schools will have about CTE (and especially allied health-oriented CTE) is that they don’t have the teachers, facilities, or equipment to support it—a legitimate objection that must be taken seriously.

So, let’s take it seriously. MedCerts can partner with any school district to provide the learning content, services, and even equipment that students need to progress through their coursework. This way, local K12s do not have to shoulder the burden of offering allied health courses or material to their students, and students can take the online programs without it being a major disruption to their existing coursework.

To do this, local school districts simply partner with MedCerts, enroll interested students into the desired program, and MedCerts can do the rest. Once students are enrolled, they will receive a number of support benefits:

• A dedicated student success advisor to help them with questions related to their coursework

• Career services to help with resume-building, interview prep, and job searches

• Flexible and fully online curriculum, with a start date unique to the student or selected based on the district’s schedule

• A 3-D immersive learning experience

• A no-cost loaner laptop program

• A practice test and support when they register for the national exam (all MedCerts programs lead to a national credential)

As students progress through their coursework, schools can expect to see three real benefits:

1. A very high percentage of their students will go into the workforce and will be gainfully employed.

2. This same group of students will receive nationally recognized healthcare certifications.

3. Students will be able to gain college credit for the coursework they have completed, which will save them time and money when they are ready to take the next step.

If you are a school district or a healthcare employer and are interested in partnering with us through the Healthcare Training Program, reach out to be connected to an account manager.