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ExploreHealthCareers.org/careerladders
Career ladders help health workers move up faster
There's no such thing as a "dead end" job in health care
Hospitals and other health care employers want to hire the best workers they can find. And many health careers, such as nurse, physical therapist and pharmacist, require years of education and training.
When you already have a job, it can be difficult to find the time and money to continue your education so you can qualify for a better position. Career ladder programs enable workers in health care settings to get education and skills training on the job, so they don’t have to take time off and lose income while they prepare for a better-paying career.
Part 1 of this article, A Step-by-Step Approach to Planning your Health Career, explains how career ladders can help underrepresented minorities and low income health workers obtain training and education to help them qualify for advancement.
This article highlights examples of career ladder programs for aspiring nurses, pharmacists, health information managers, and other health workers.
From kitchen worker to registered nurse
WorkSource Partners is a private company that designs and implements career ladder programs for hospitals, long term care facilities and other health care providers. Individuals who enroll in these programs continue to work while they receive job-related skills training.
Courses are typically taught in the workplace, using a curriculum adapted from a local community college. Some students also may attend courses on campus, particularly to fill “core” requirements such as English or math. Career coaches, mentors and other professionals provide support and advice to help the students succeed.
Employer-sponsored career ladder programs can help frontline workers move up faster than they ever imagined. Mary Culhane, Vice President of WorkForce Services, remembers one participant, a woman who was working in the kitchen of a large long-term care center.
“She was earning about $8 per hour, and raising 5 children. She enrolled in her employer’s ladder program, implemented with assistance from WorkSource Partners, and within 18 months she became a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Now she is continuing her path to become an R.N.”
On the job training helps you get a better job
Another type of career ladder program emphasizes home study and Internet-based training, combined with individualized support from a coach or mentor.
The School at Work program offered by Catalyst Learning in Louisville, KY, helps entry-level workers prepare for advancement with a combination of self-study workbooks, DVDs, online instruction, classroom learning and individual counseling.
Sample Health Career Ladders
Nurse aid → patient care tech → LPN → registered nurse
Sterile processing → surgical tech → clinical lab tech → radiologic tech
Medical secretary → medical records → medical transcriptionist → billing and coding
Environmental and dietary → patient transport → tech positions → supervisor
This type of career ladder program requires self-discipline. Students must devote about two hours of their own time each day to self-study, plus another 1.5 hours a week in class. Coaches, often employees from the hospital’s human resources or education department, keep an eye on each student’s progress and offer assistance as needed.
Another Catalyst program, called ECHO, helps health workers with some clinical experience get additional training for career advancement. A hospital office worker, for example, can take classes in medical terminology, anatomy, physiology and medical ethics to become certified as a health information manager.
Turning health care jobs into health careers
Jobs to Careers is a $15.8 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in collaboration with The Hitachi Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor. This program provides grants to employers to help frontline workers qualify for careers in nursing, drug addiction therapy, pharmacy, patient care and other health careers.
”We believe that employees, at all levels in their healthcare career, deserve the opportunity to advance,” says Rebecca Starr, Deputy Director of the Jobs to Careers Initiative. “Education and training is the key to advancement. However, so many of the low-wage, low-skilled employees do not have the time or money to seek training outside of normal work hours, so that is why we have initiated Jobs to Careers.”
Jobs to Careers has funded career ladder programs at nine major healthcare employers across the U.S.
- Asante Health Systems partnered with Rogue Community College to provide training and education to advance clerical workers into positions in healthcare informatics.
- American Indians serving as health technicians on the Navajo reservation can advance their careers through Learning Circles for Health Technicians.
- The Owensboro Medical Health System and a local community college provide on-line and work-based training for CNAs, pharmacy techs, clerks, patient care techs, and environmental techs to become associate degree registered nurses.
- The Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) plans to train employees currently working in non-patient care departments to become nurse extenders.
A prescription for filling pharmacy jobs
CVS/Caremark fills more than 1 billion prescriptions a year. To ensure a pipeline of qualified workers to staff the company’s 6,200 drug stores and online operations, the company created Career Prescriptions for Success (CAPS).
The CAPS program promotes careers in pharmacy, particularly in areas with high unemployment. Interested participants are employed as apprentices in a local CVS store, where they work closely with a trained pharmacist/mentor.
Upon completion of the apprenticeship, the student is eligible to work as a pharmacy service associate. With further on-the-job training, the associate can qualify as a pharmacy technician and eventually become a lead technician. CVS even pays tuition for some workers to complete an Associate Degree at a local community college, or a four-year degree and graduate program in pharmacy.
The first CAPS program is currently being implemented in Detroit, and will serve as a model for programs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Indianapolis.
Career ladders offer aspiring health workers a step up
No one wants to get stuck in a “dead end” job. Even getting started in a career takes time and money. Career ladder programs can be helpful in transforming every job in a health care facility – from kitchen staff to janitor – into a potential “first step” to a rewarding health career.
Learn more:
Clinical Laboratory Technologist/Technician
Health Information Manager
Medical Assistant
Nurses Aide/Nursing Assistant
Radiologic Technologist
Registered Nurse (RN)
Surgical Technologist
Vocational/Licensed Practical Nurse