19 February - 2023CXO INSIGHTSBy Noel Adams, Vice President of Academic Collaborations and Operations, OSF InnovationConnecting the STEAM pipeline to health careThe labor shortage of both clinical and non-clinical workers is amongst the biggest challenges in our turbulent health care environment today. Additionally, the shift to a digitally-enabled, technology dependent industry calls for new types of careers and training. Creating new innovative ways to create a pipeline for these careers is critical to caring for our aging population. In my experience, if you talk to the average child or teen and ask them to name a career in health care, the overwhelming majority will name a nurse or doctor. Many have never even considered the hundreds of other possibilities available such as technicians, pharmacists, billing/coders or paramedics, nor are they aware of the scope of education required for these different careers. If a teen doesn't want to go to college, there are opportunities available for high school graduates with on the job training. Then there are also highly specialized positions, such as radiologists, that require years of advanced education. In the early 21st century, a nationwide awareness of STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and the importance of fostering these skills in children to fill labor gaps became a focus, and it worked! The United States had great strides with this programming and filling the resource gaps. Unfortunately, the STEAM curriculum focused on traditional computer science, engineering, physics and other subjects that didn't really provide visibility into how they connect with health care. Realistically, there are relatively few careers in health care that do not require STEAM skills. What impact could it have if we included and promoted health care careers in the STEAM learning?As we look at creating new pipelines to health care careers, STEAM education with curriculum tailored to promote health care careers can be leveraged to start inspiring kids to these much- needed fields. With today's tools, the learning can be highly scalable, flexible, longitudinal and at relatively low cost. There is a real opportunity for health care systems to start a revolution and solve their own problem! Imagine as a child learns about calculations, they also learn about how doctors and pharmacists use calculations in their everyday work. As they learn about what x-rays are, they can learn the science behind how it works and what a radiologist and a radiology technician do. As they learn to program, they are educated about how programming and data are leveraged in health care. The key is hands-on, engaging Noel Adams
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