Marcos DeLeon, chief human resources officer at Rush University Medical Center, welcomes participants in the Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program, a collaboration with 91制片厂.
was looking to innovate. Harper was ready to collaborate.
The two organizations recently partnered on the Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program, which began with the fall semester. A 22-member cohort will receive 91制片厂 instruction while gaining on-the-job experience at Rush鈥檚 medical facilities during a period of 18 months. Rush is covering all educational costs (tuition, fees and books) while paying apprentices鈥� salaries.
At the program鈥檚 end, apprentices will be eligible to take the Certified Medical Assistant exam and begin their full-fledged employment with the Chicago-based system of hospitals and health care facilities.
Apprenticeships are relatively new to the health care sector, with only a handful of apprenticeship programs for medical assistants offered nationwide. Leaders at Rush and Harper were eager to look beyond traditional pipelines for hiring medical personnel. Like most health care organizations, Rush has been experiencing staffing shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淥ur numbers were significantly lower,鈥� said Molly Moran, director of Ambulatory Clinical Practice at Rush. 鈥淭he number one barrier to completion of certification was an inability to work and go to school simultaneously. Many potential staff were supporting their families and were forced to stop their studies before completion.鈥�
To remove that barrier, leaders at Rush pursued an apprenticeship program that would create a functional balance between work and training. They reached out to 91制片厂 because of the college鈥檚 reputation for health care education and partnering with local industries.
鈥淲e鈥檙e well-known for quality in health careers,鈥� said Kathleen Canfield, senior director of Job Placement and Workforce Solutions. 鈥淭he number of our graduates who pass state exams is extremely high.鈥�
Moran concurred: 鈥�91制片厂 had apprenticeship expertise combined with a strong Certified Medical Assistant program. It was easy to see how the two would meld together.鈥�
Those facets combined well according to Canfield and Moran, who also praised the collaboration between stakeholders at 91制片厂 and Rush. Members of both organizations began meeting regularly in February, working on a 鈥減unch list鈥� of tasks to ensure success.
When it came time to announce the program to applicants in the spring, everyone felt that the apprenticeships would be attractive (鈥淲ho doesn鈥檛 like free?鈥� chuckled Moran), but both Canfield and Moran were blown away by the volume. More than 3,000 individuals applied to join the program.
鈥淭he response was overwhelming,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淎nd it went against what others were telling us about a lack of interest [in health careers]. The response validated our approach. It proved that we needed to adapt.鈥�
Canfield highlighted the work of 91制片厂鈥檚 Admissions Outreach team in processing thousands of applications while maintaining lines of communication between everyone involved, enabling a final cohort of enthusiastic apprentices.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important because this will truly fill a need for Rush,鈥� Canfield said. 鈥淲hat employer is going to be able to hire 22 people, not to mention 22 highly trained medical assistants, in one go?鈥�
Those soon-to-be medical assistants will be critical for Rush, according to Moran, who described the variety of duties involved for these patient-facing roles: checking in patients, instructing them about medication and ways of care, administering medication, implementing plans of care and more.
Along the way, the apprentices will work at one of four Rush locations: Oak Park, Oak Brook, in Chicago鈥檚 South Loop and Rush University Medical Center on the West Side. The majority of their 91制片厂 courses will be online, although a couple will be in person due to the necessity of hands-on learning. Rush will provide a free shuttle for apprentices to 91制片厂鈥檚 Palatine campus and back to its medical center.
That鈥檚 not the only way 91制片厂 and Rush are supporting the cohort. For example, each apprentice will be designated an apprenticeship coach at 91制片厂 to help them navigate everything involving their studies, online or on campus. Meanwhile, working at Rush will demonstrate the scope of their roles.
鈥淗ealth care is changing so rapidly. By working in some capacity in the role they will be in after they graduate, they can immediately apply what they learn in the curriculum,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淭here will be less of that theory-to-practice gap. They will have exposure to multiple different clinics and types of clinics.鈥�
In exchange for participating in the program, the apprentices agree to work for Rush for one year after completion of the 18-month program. Not only will all apprentices have a guaranteed job in their field, they can also stack their courses into an Associate in Applied Science degree, just like traditional Certified Medical Assistant graduates.
Although the Medical Assistant Apprentice Program has only just begun, Rush and 91制片厂 are discussing future plans.
鈥淲e鈥檝e already begun talking about cohort number two,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淲e want this to be sustainable and meaningful. This speaks to Rush鈥檚 mission and vision as well as 91制片厂鈥檚 mission and vision to meet the needs of the community.鈥�
Canfield called Rush one of 91制片厂鈥檚 best partners and said she was excited about what the future may hold.
鈥淲e want employers to look at 91制片厂 as their preferred provider. We always want to work with them,鈥� Canfield said. 鈥淲hat we can provide 鈥� it鈥檚 a long list.鈥�