The city of Cincinnati has recently piloted a unique apprenticeship program in response in order to address the growing worker shortage within the health industry, specifically with medical assistants throughout the city. Mercy Health and The Health Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati have partnered together to curate the program towards health care positions throughout the community. The apprenticeship will look to provide participants with the skills and knowledge they will need to work in the health care industry as recent data projects a 12% vacancy rate for medical assistants which would translate to hundreds of job openings in the region.
“We wanted to start a program that tapped the hearts of individuals who have a passion for patient care but did not have the opportunity or finances to support the education required to be in a clinical position. The Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program doesn’t only provide individuals an opportunity to grow, it also gives us a steady clinical pool of staff to fill needed positions in a strained healthcare staffing market.”
Courtney Seitz, Mercy Health Physicians Cincinnati Chief Operating Officer
The Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program is a twelve-month intensive competency-based program where participants will undergo technical instruction provided through Cincinnati State Technical Community College as well as on-the-job training at Mercy Health locations throughout their apprenticeship. Apprentices will also be asked to complete self-led study time that will be used to further their understanding of the material. For apprentices to graduate from the program they must complete up to 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours of related technical instruction while a preceptor supervises apprentices during on-the-job training. Mercy Health will also employ apprenticeship participants as apprentice medical assistants as they work to complete their required training. Ten apprentices recently completed the apprenticeship helping the program earn a 100% pass rate on the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam.
Read full article here: https://www.mercy.com/news-events/news/cincinnati/2022/january/first-class-of-new-medical-assistant-apprenticeship-program-earns-certification
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