Combating Healthcare Shortages: How a Partnership Between Gaston College and Atrium Health is Creating Job Opportunities in North Carolina
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 54,400 licensed practical nursing positions are expected to open each year over the next decade, with many of those openings resulting from career changes or retirement. Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) fill a vital role in the health care system—collecting patient data, administering medications, providing wound care, responding to patient emergencies, and more. As such, ensuring there is a skilled workforce to take over these open positions is critical. Understanding the need to address the worker shortage, Gaston College (GC) partnered with Atrium Healthin 2021 to create a Practical Nursing (PN) Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP).
Having used Atrium Health as a clinical site prior to the creation of their RAP, GC recognized working together to fill critical roles seemed like a logical next step.
“We received tons of feedback on how the students love the Atrium Health culture and the atmosphere. GC has been #1 in NC for their Practical Nursing Program 3 years in a row. We’re in the job of making students successful, and Atrium Health is wanting to hire people. It’s a perfect partnership for both…because we’re trying to accomplish the same goals and working together is better than working in silos.”—Ashley Long, RN, BSN, MBA, Assistant Dean, Health Career Partnerships, Gaston College
The PN RAP is a one-year program that sees apprentices complete three semesters of Practical Nursing courses through GC while doing clinical rotations through Atrium Health. The Practical Nursing courses emphasize clinical decision making, caring interventions, biophysical and psychosocial concepts, communication, collaboration, teaching and learning, accountability, safety, informatics, and evidence-based practice. Upon completion, apprentices should have the skills and knowledge to provide safe nursing care to patients of all ages.
The program comes with a multitude of benefits for apprentices as GC offers both daytime and nighttime courses so apprentices can align their schooling with their scheduling needs. Apprentices also receive employee benefits through Atrium Health, including medical, dental, vision, a 401K, and education benefits. The education benefits, specifically, prove to be a huge boon for apprentices as Atrium Health teammates have access to tuition assistance, including pre-paid and reimbursement options after 90 days of employment.
Ashley Long, RN, BSN, MBA, Assistant Dean, Health Career Partnerships, Gaston College, noted PN apprentices in the program are essentially earning their degrees for free. “This is a program that typically costs $7,500; however, Atrium Health covers this cost. Going in, the apprentice only pays $120.00. After 90 days of employment at Atrium Health, that cost is also covered by employee benefits.”
Upon successful completion of the program and their passing of the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN), Gaston College and Atrium Health’s apprentices become Licensed Practical Nurses.
Cynthia Bailey, Associate Director, SE Region, Workforce and Career Development, Atrium Health, sees the apprenticeship model as one that will continue to help Atrium Health grow its workforce, saying, “There is a global shortage in healthcare… apprenticeships have been able to help us meet that shortage, and we are also increasing employee morale and interest. We had an information session for our LPN’s and there’s over 200 people interested and ready to advance their career just for our PN apprenticeship, and that’s just one of our programs… We have focused on our frontline teammates, our incumbent workers, to retain them and grow our staff to meet critical roles. I’d like to expand going forward to look at existing student bodies and others looking to advance their careers. I hope that as we create more Atrium Health based apprenticeships, we will have more opportunities to grow.” Atrium Health recently filed for medical lab therapy, central sterile processing, and practical nursing Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
Gaston College is hoping to expand opportunities for high school students by leveraging pre-apprenticeship as a way to pique interest in medical pathways in juniors and seniors. Joy Morrow, Director of Apprenticeship and Work-Based-Learning, Gaston College, said, “This coming fall, we are going to add a medical pathway for our pre-apprenticeship students. We work with juniors and seniors in high school and…the whole purpose of our pre-apprenticeship is to make students aware of the different career options in the healthcare field. We’re going to go out and we’re going to tour Atrium Health. We’re going to have Atrium Health come talk with our students…we’re educating our students, showing them career options, and building a qualified workforce.”
If you are interested in learning more about Gaston College’s Practical Nursing courses, visits Gaston College’s website.
To learn more about Atrium Health, visit Atrium Health’s website here.
About ApprenticeshipNC: Recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship to act on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor, ApprenticeshipNC is the State Apprenticeship Agency authorized to register apprenticeship programs tailored to meet employers’ needs— providing structured on-the-job learning, supplemental education, and a progressive wage scale.
This article was written by ApprenticeshipNC Communications Assistant Margaret Spainhour as a part of the Amplify ApprenticeshipNC Program Spotlight Initiative.
