COLORADO SPRINGS — Over the past year there have been more job openings than ever in the United States. It is a hiring climate where potential employees are looking for more than a paycheck and the usual benefits. It has motivated some employers to expand the way they attract employees. The result can be some unique workplace opportunities.
A program at Vangaurd Skin Specialists intended to enhance the medical field has broadened into an asset for attracting good hires. They hire college grads as medical assistants who have little to no experience in a medical setting, but show excitement and passion for the field.
"With the right character we can train competence. We can mold them and give them the skill sets they need to become a future medical provider." said Clinic Founder, Dr. Vinh Chung.
Jessie Stanek got an undergraduate degree in biology and was thinking about furthering her education in the medical field. "What a lot of grads find out is that you can't get experience in health care until you have experience somewhere and you get kind of trapped in a cycle.”
She applied for the program at Vanguard and got the job. The experience led to a job in healthcare, only it is one different than Stanek was first considering. "I ended up really finding my passion in healthcare administration, so I ended up staying at Vanguard.”
Dr. Chung says this program brings in great employees. One trade off, however, is seeing them move-on in a couple of years. A lot go on to become nurses, physician assistants, and doctors.
“Some of them have ended up coming back to settle in our community as medical providers." For Chung, the program has more than one purpose. It attracts good team members for the clinic, while also helping to enhance the future of healthcare.
The program is now expanding beyond medical assistants. They are now offering paid training to physician's assistants or nurse practitioners who may be burned out in another area of medicine and want to transition to dermatology.
