VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Halifax Health is recruiting, training, and retaining employees through registered apprenticeship programs.
And thanks to a $50,000 Florida Department of Education Pathway to Careers Opportunities Grant, the healthcare system is able to further expand those programs.
News 6 Anchor Julie Broughton spoke with Dr. Serena Fisher, director of organizational development and learning.
“We actually have several apprenticeship programs here. So, we have the first RN apprenticeship in the state of Florida, which is super exciting. We also have medical coding. We have the technical support analysts, which is think about your IT help desk, we have a couple of Radiology, CT and MRI, and a couple of others in the work,” Fisher said. “I think my favorite way of describing it is an earn while you learn model. So typically, when you’re going to hire somebody, there are things that you want to see on their resume, the right education, experience, maybe certifications. The idea with an apprenticeship is if I could design the perfect personality to be successful in this role, maybe the soft skills, they show up on time, they have a positive attitude, attention to details, but they don’t necessarily have the degree yet, or the experience. And apprenticeship allows you to hire somebody based on what you decide their success factors are, and then help them get their classroom education while you’re also doing on the job training.”
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Fisher says the FDOE grant is helping fund a high-tech skills lab used by the RN apprentices.
“And then what’s really neat about the training week, equipment we got through the PCOG is they are interactive,” Fisher said. “So, you could wear it. It kind of reminds me of Operation if you played that game as a kid. So, let’s say you’re wearing this tracheotomy training device. And I am practicing your tracheotomy care like I’m supposed to clean it prevent infections. It will vibrate. So, if I do something wrong, it gives you some sort of haptic feedback. And you can say, ‘Oh, that kind of hurt.’ Oh, wow. And so, I know, Oh, all right. Let me try that differently. I went too far, or I touched the wrong thing. It’s just, it is incredible. And it’s realistic, and it’s going to be so incredible for our nurses.”
To become an RN apprentice, Fisher says you must already be enrolled in an accredited nursing program at a local college. Fisher says they currently have about 19 students in the RN apprenticeship program. For the medical coding program, the only accept one apprentice at a time.
We met Cynthia Yashus, who graduated in May from Daytona State University’s medical coding and billing program. She told News 6 she worked as a bartender for 31 years, before coming to work at Halifax scanning medical records. Then a supervisor approached her about becoming an apprentice.
“The first time when I realized I didn’t even really know what medical coding was when they approached me. But it was an opportunity to advance and to get more education. So, I decided might as well do it. So, my first day of school when I went there, and we have roll the books and I started opening them and looking and seeing numbers and letters. And I was like, What is this, you know, so, but as you go through it, it, it you know you learn how to do it.”
Yashus said it took about a year to complete the schooling and on-the-job training.
“It was it was hard, you know, a lot of studying a lot of projects, and then working on top of it. But it was worth it was really worth in a year it you know. They said a year I’m like a year is a long time. But it went by very fast. And I’ve gained so much more knowledge,” she said. “So, I feel very blessed that I had this opportunity and I’m glad that I that I took it. And I’m very happy. And like I said I’m proud of myself. My parents are proud of me the kids so I mean it’s life changing.”
To learn more about apprenticeship opportunities at Halifax Health, email orgdevelop@halifax.org or call 386-425-1465.
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