uilding a Web-based Infrastructure
Shannon Kirkland, MBA
Danielle Askins, BA
West Texas AHEC Program
xas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Overview
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Texas H.O.T. Jobs history
Website tour and infrastructure
Resources for educators
Sustainability and future
Getting started on your own
H.O.T. Jobs
history
• Started by the Texas AHEC network in
1997 as a printed book
• Designed to prepare students for entry into
the healthcare field
• Historically updated every 3 years
• First HOT Jobs website was contributed by
the HSTE partner in early 2005 as part of 2nd
edition—a pdf version of the book with some
lesson plan materials
• 3rd edition website launched in early 2006,
much more graphically oriented and some
basic interactive features
Research implications
Research Findings
Website Modifications
Social network important
Developed parent
section
Developed
“Professionals in Field”
Developed educator
section
Website rich in graphics
& interactive formats
Talking to healthcare
professionals important
Mixed impact talking to
teachers / counselors
Website impt, but need
multimedia components
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Design considerations
• Complex database architecture
“behind the scenes” to drive huge
volumes of data
• Strategic use of photos, colors, Flash
and video components to reinforce
messaging for target audiences
• Interactivity
• Highlighting real life experiences of
others
What it took
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
651 pages of internal content
7 multi-table databases
145 Flash components
65+ videos
470 links to external content
More than 2,000 communications
with high school administrators for
research participation
Preview of
website
• Career Seeker Section
• Parent Section
• Educator Section
Website Tour
• www.texashotjobs.org
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Career Seekers
section
• All of the career seeker information
available in Spanish
• New: Professionals in the Field
• Expanded: Personal career manager
profile
- Career Comparison Grid
- Professionals in the field highlights based on
top career choices
- RSS news feed for healthcare news
- Checklists
Career profile
• Creates opportunity for targeted
content and communication
based on user’s inputs on region,
demographics, and career
interest
• Expandable content delivery area
• Potential for peer-to-peer
communication
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Career Seeker
section
• Redesigned career roadmaps, tying in Achieve
Texas programs of study
• Colleges and universities search
• Functionality for resource sharing with peers
(Bookmark feature connecting to Facebook,
Twitter, etc.)
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Career Seekers
section
• Interactive career exploration modules
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Identification of diseases affecting minorities
Preparation of scripts for each module
Healthcare professional representation
Diversity of healthcare settings
Math, science and vocabulary skill building
Health risk factors and behaviors
Communication skills
Access to Professionals in the Field and roadmaps
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Career Seekers
section
• Interactive career exploration modules
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15 modules
62 individual healthcare scenes
39 different healthcare careers represented
40 health care professionals as actors /
actresses
• Diverse population of patients and healthcare
professionals
• Each scene ranges from 1 – 5 minutes in length
• ~ 10-12 math and science questions developed
for each module (based on 3 levels of difficulty),
which are mapped to high school assessment
competencies
Educators’
section
• Completely NEW!!!
• Lesson plans that supplement the online
Career Exploration Modules
- Identify TAKS and College Readiness standards
• RSS news feeds for healthcare news
• Direct access to the Career Roadmaps,
which link to the AchieveTexas pathways
and POS
• Blog for sharing best practices
• Archive of all previous educator materials
Lesson plans
• Development team
– Lead: Lori Milner, PhD (DFW AHEC)
– Jan Ritter, M.Ed. (Piney Woods AHEC)
– Jody Sanders, BA, teaching certificate
(Pecan Valley AHEC)
• Process
– Reviewed module scripts
– Developed classroom-formatted
activities to complement modules
– Conducted evaluation process with
six educators
Lesson plan
validation
• Each reviewer evaluated on a rubric scale
1-5
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Appropriateness for high school
Relevance to the module topic
Instructions are clear
Content is correct/valid
• Modifications made based on these
evaluations
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Educators’
section
• References page for resources related to
health careers development
• Announcements area for YouTube contest
for classes, summer camp opportunities,
etc.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Parents and Families
section
• Parents and extended family play a huge
role in the success of their child
- Influencing career choice
- Preparing for and accessing education after high
school
• Provides a tool for parents to assist their
child who is interested in pursuing a health
career
- Why choose a career in health care fields?
- Discuss myths about healthcare careers
- Interactive Career Interest Survey
- Breakdown of salary potential by education level
- Financial aid information
• Available in Spanish
Database infrastructure
• Main Career Database
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Salary ticker (flash)
Salary range, annual & hourly
Heartbeat area (flash)
Job Outlook
Professional in the field link
Length of training
Career Explorer module link
My Career Profile
Database infrastructure
• Universities
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Name of college
URL
Location
Degree programs available
Zip code to GPS coordinates
• University zone
– AHEC region and center
Database infrastructure
• Module database
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Math & Science
Vocabulary
Information links
Titles descriptions
• Also connections to role
model database and main
career database
Utilization
• In 2007, the site averaged 5,000
visitors/month
• In 2010, the site averaged 22,000
visitors/month
• 924 number of registered profile career
seekers to date (23.7% Hispanic,
17.4% African American, 23%
unreported)
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Utilization
Visibility and
searches
• Ranks #2 on Google and Bing for “health
careers in Texas.”
• About #1: www.texashealthcareers.org
• Top search terms that direct people to this
site are various forms of
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hot jobs
hot jobs in Texas
Texas jobs
cool jobs in Texas
You don’t see health care mentioned….
• 4 of the top 50 search terms are in Spanish
Not in a vacuum
• How we promote it
– Statewide AHEC health careers
promotion efforts
– HOT Jobs print tools
– Use in high school HSE courses
– PSAs developed for local use by
partners
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Next steps: website
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Website monitoring and revisions
Targeted use of Twitter and Facebook
Continue to expand role model pool
Research and add new careers: certified
tumor registrar, nursing informatics, new
health information technology opportunities
• “This College Life” pilot test
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Next steps:
sustainability
• Advertising
– Opportunity for organizations that are
mission-aligned to participate
• Assisting other states with
development
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Getting started
• From scratch or a revamp
– Look at other sites, both career and pop
culture, to identify strengths
• Graphic appeal
• Navigation
– Review your data
• In what format does your information exist?
• Do you have the resources to streamline it
for efficiencies in future editions?
Getting started
• Development Process
– Establish work group
– Assess need
– Determine the scope of the project
– Develop project timeline
– Generate funding
– Research and develop product
– Distribute
Getting started
• Needs assessment
– Surveys/focus groups with primary
audiences
• Scope
– Prioritize important features
– Look at the budget
• Work with a web programmer to
identify the best options to accomplish
as many of your priorities as possible
– Consider “staging” project
Getting started
• Timeline
– Realistic
– With Web development, expect that it
takes longer than you expect
• R&D
– Goes back to needs assessment and
priorities
– Content. Content. Content.
– Messages delivered in more than one
way
Getting started
• Distribute
– How do you drive traffic to your
Web site?
• Supporting mechanisms: hard copy
books or business cards distributed at
events
• PSAs
• Links to your from other key Web sites
• Where does it rank in the search
engines and how to improve?
Getting started
• Explore interactive options
– Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
These can be added to your site
pretty inexpensively.
Considerations:
• Someone to keep the stream of
information current
• Addressing concerns related to
appropriateness of content and user
interactions
Partners and
contributors
• TTUHSC School of Pharmacy
• TTUHSC F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and
Community Health, West Texas AHEC
Program
• TTU College of Mass Communications
• AHEC of the Plains
• East Texas AHEC Program (UTMB)
– DFW AHEC (UT Southwestern), Piney Woods
AHEC (Stephen F. Austin University), and Pecan
Valley AHEC (Victoria College)
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Vendors
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Web Development: Visual Reality Production, Inc.
Photos and Graphic Concept: Hartsfield Design
Messaging Strategies: CommuniCard, LLC
Spanish Translation: Teneo Linguistics
Video Development: Studio 84
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Wrapping up
Questions and comments?
Contact us
Shannon Kirkland
TTUHSC F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health
shannon.kirkland@ttuhsc.edu p. 806.743.1338
Danielle Askins
AHEC of the Plains
danielle.askins@ahecplains.org
p. 806.291.0101