Healthcare: Employer Driven RightFit Assessment
National Council on Workforce Education
October 17, 2014
Who we are – Where we’re from
•
•
•
•
•
Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Urban Campus
16,900 credit students – Fall 201
16,822 non-credit students (2012-13)
Employers
West Michigan Alliance for Health
•
The Health Care Skills Alliance
(HCSA), established in late 2004,
seeks to resolve systemic and
structural issues that will help meet
the need for skilled and entry-level
workers in the health care sector. The
Health Care Employers Council is the
lead partner in this initiative.
• Total health care jobs in West
Central Michigan are projected to
grow about 15-20% for the ten
year period ending in 2016,
compared to less than 7% for all
jobs. (1) With approximately
79,000 health care jobs, health
care generates over $3.8 billion in
wages and salaries in the region,
plus another $1.4 billion from
indirect and induced jobs for
more than 41,000 individuals
WFD in West Michigan Region
• 2004 – 2006 Movement to Guaranteed
Diploma
• 2006-2009 Foundational Skills Credentials and
Work Based Learning
• 2009 Michigan Adopts the NCRC as the Work
Ready Certificate
• 2010-2012 Talent 2025
• 2012- Present Evidenced Based Hiring Models
(Credentials)
GRCC’s MA Program Story
Program
Structure
Retention
Employer
Learning
Experience
Student
Enrollment
Employer-Identified Skills
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communication
Customer Service
HIPAA
Attention to Detail
Conflict Management
Teamwork
Problem-Solving
Prioritizing
Follow-through
Safety
Critical Thinking
Lab Skills—Point of Contact—hemoglobin, specimens, phlebotomy, etc.
Immunizations/Medications
Job Seeking Skills
Dan Salvati, Spectrum Health
Manager, HR Integrations and Resource
• Major skills needed for MAs working in the resource pool
are EMR, Immunizations (knowing which ones/what they
are), communication skills, and how they present
themselves.
• Dan wants to hire MAs who can flex in the job and have
good EMR skills. Implementing Lean principles in staffing
makes this important. It is important to understand the
correlation between illness and scheduling work flow.
• Dan made the correlation for us between low scorers on
Assessments negatively impacting the rest of the class
(holding the class back). He advocated for a minimum of
Silver level NCRC.
Dr. Peter Olson
Physician, Medical Advisor
• Recommends an emphasis on positive patient service.
• “Your students will be ahead of the game if they already
practice and model those skills” and that “personal skills are a
big deal”.
• Dr. Olson recommended that those with a score of 3 in any of
the assessments remediate to earn at least a score of 4 in
every assessment before enrolling in the course.
• Dr. Olson shared that he has been satisfied with the students
he has hosted as externs and has recommended them for hire.
• Advisory Committee approved a minimum score of 4 in Math,
Reading for Information, and Locating Information. Those who
have 3 or below need to remediate to scores of 4 before
entering the program.
Employer Advice
• Graduates need to ‘fit’ in health care with people skills
• Professional Excellence
• Program should be cost effective to be proportional to likely
wages
• Certificate program rather than an associate’s degree
• Short Term (6 month), accelerated program
• Give people a depth of knowledge – consider having prerequisites to ensure competencies
• Consider requiring volunteer hours/service learning hours
• Incorporate Work Keys assessments (NCRC and Talent)
• The board recommended utilizing study groups as a part of
the learning structure of the course. It was suggested as a
good way to develop Teamwork skills and for students to learn
Program Structure
•
•
•
•
6 month certificate program
RMA Certification
CAAHEP Accreditation*
Program Director with RMA
– 4 Instructors with technical expertise
*The Medical Assistant Program at GRCC is accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the
recommendation of the Medical Assistant Eduation Review Board.
CAAHEP 1361 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756
717-210-2350, www.caahep.org
Program Structure Student Communication
•
•
•
•
Information Sessions
Program guides on website
Orientation
Student Handbook
Program Content Structure
• Foundational Knowledge
– Communication skills
– Introductory courses
– Integrated Learning by body systems
• Simulation
• Advanced Skills
• Cohort learning using Adult Learning Styles
and emphasizing Critical Thinking Skills
Student Admissions Experience
• ACT WorkKeys® National Career Readiness
Certificate to validate readiness to learn at the
appropriate level
• ACT Workkeys® Talent and Fit to inform
behavior and motivation
• Computer Competency
• CPR and First Aid
• Immunizations
Learning Experience
• Standards for Competency and
Professionalism are coached and upheld
throughout the course
• When successful in passing the fundamentals,
move on to advanced skills and critical
thinking simulation
Learning Experience with Employers
• 19 Independent employers provide
externships; 4 more have requested students
• 4 Provide Job Shadows
• 7 Sit on Advisory Committee
• Requested by Lakeshore Employers
Retention - Student
• 81% Completion
– 8 Dropped during the course
– 6 Didn’t meet Grade Competency
– 3 Didn’t meet Professionalism Competency (points)
– 1 Refused Externship Location
– 4 Repeated the course
• 91% Placement Rate
Lessons Learned: Program Success
• Competency
– Needed WorkKeys NCRC minimum scores
– Needed a mid-point competency attainment
• Accreditation
– Intentional Program Design from the Employer
Perspective and meeting the format/structure of
accreditation guidelines is a major project
Lessons Learned: Assessment Tools
• Talent and Fit can inform behavior and give
insights to staff in how to better encourage
success
• Talent and Fit results can also result in
preconceived notions on the part of staff
– Stability, Striving, Carefulness, Cooperation
• Foundational Skills – how strong do they really
need to be?
Lessons Learned: Student Success
• What makes for an excellent MA can also
make for a difficult student/enrollee
• Cohort Learning can bring out personality
challenges and opportunities for coaching
• Order + Influence + Precision = Oh My!
Example Activity
Example #1 (DG)
NCRC
Talent
Math
3
Teamwork
36
Reading for Information
4
Work Discipline
57
Locating Information
4
Management
40
Customer Service
67
Carefulness
41
Top 5 Values
Cooperation
59
Taking Risks
Creativity
70
Influencing Others
Discipline
67
Precision
Goodwill
44
Using My Hands
Influence
57
Physical Activity
Optimism
85
Order
84
Lowest 2 Values
Savvy
9
Working Outdoors
Sociability
66
Authority
Stability
11
Striving
86
Fit
81
Example #2 (KG)
NCRC
Talent
Math
6
Teamwork
75
Reading for Information
6
Work Discipline
85
Locating Information
5
Management
71
Customer Service
74
Carefulness
96
Top 5 Values
Cooperation
78
Precision
Creativity
69
Helping People
Discipline
79
Public Contact
Goodwill
70
Intellectual Stimulation
Influence
42
Order
Optimism
42
Order
78
Lowest Two Values
Savvy
78
Physical Activity
Sociability
36
Social Status
Stability
59
Striving
41
Fit
87
Parting Thoughts
• The quality of your product is determined in
the set up.
• Data drives decisions
• Continuous Improvement Process
– Student, Program and Staff
Thank you for coming!
• Questions?
•
•
•
•
Rachael Jungblut rjungblu@grcc.edu
Julie Parks jparks@grcc.edu
Linda Witte lwitte@grcc.edu
616-234-3400