Innovative immersion program focuses on healthcare workforce gaps today, student career options tomorrow

In this case, the ‘trifecta’ program launching this summer is the “Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care” program, an undergraduate immersion opportunity for University of Cincinnati students in partnership with the affiliated health system, UC Health.

The program has promise to become a national model due to widespread challenges in

• Recruiting entry-level healthcare workers;
• Tightening admissions standards to medical schools and other advanced study programs related to healthcare;
• Need to retain healthcare professionals for the long term (so that their experience continues to serve patients).

“I’m a huge believer in the combined UC/UCH missions. Every time we can increase the integration of our missions, we will find big wins,” affirms Pancioli, adding. “To be the very best as an Academic Health Center on behalf of Cincinnati, we need to amplify resources and opportunities that will strengthen both institutions and our region overall. This checks all the boxes on our mutual and wider education, training and workforce needs, and it will help patients. In every respect, this kind of model is our future.”

The “Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care” program was first fast tracked by Pancioli; Valerie Hoagland-Scarfpin, UC Health assistant vice president, talent acquisition; Alex Maus, UC Health director of educational placements; and Anil Menon, UC College of Medicine associate dean and director of the undergraduate medical sciences program, in the closing days of 2021. They also engaged with others at UC Health like Teri Grau, chief nursing officer and vice president of nursing.

Pancioli recalls, “I began ruminating that we all know we don’t have enough nurses in this country. Overall, the workforce issues in healthcare are severe, and this isn’t going to change anytime soon. So, our old models really don’t apply anymore. We need to restructure our healthcare workforce. For instance, specialization in nursing roles, whether an operating room nurse or an ICU nurse or psychiatry nurse or in another role or unit, is now a required norm to best serve our patients. These are distinct, complex roles where highly trained and skilled nurses need to focus on care needs at or above the threshold of their full capabilities. Given that, I began mentally recalculating the care model entirely, and when you’re trying to redesign a model, you ask yourself what and how can you redeploy assets. How could we provide those nurses more support staff?”

Menon, who heads one of the nation’s first undergraduate medical sciences programs (founded at UC to provide a diverse gateway major into medical, dental, pharmacy, optometry, public health, or business administration, research or other related fields), explains, “In applying to medical school, pharmacy school, dental school or an array of allied health programs like a physician assistant master’s program, there is – increasingly – some expectations for applicants to demonstrate a substantial immersive medical experience. Medical schools and other specialty preparatory programs are becoming very savvy in this regard. They’ve come to realize that, too often, applying students had never really worked in a hospital or clinical care setting. They only really knew what they’d seen on TV.”

Currently, the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) strongly recommends that applicants gain exposure or experience via clinical shadowing or a hands-on health exploration. (And many programs to train physician assistants (PA) require applicants to demonstrate a high number of hours – 1,000 or more – of healthcare experience.)

It turns out that when undergraduate students have four straight years of academic training at the baccalaureate college level and then go into a medical school or related program, there are those who realize late into their advanced studies or perhaps in residency or even in medical practice that the realities of the field are not a good fit for them. Explains Menon, “Based on AAMC data, we know that these folks, often, due to issues of sunk costs and family or other expectations, may know they are not as fulfilled as they might be but then still work a decade or so and only then step out – carrying valuable experience out of the profession.”

Because of the personal and professional time and energy as well as financial resources ultimately required to complete health training and launch and carry forward service careers, medical schools and other allied health programs are expressing increasing interest in applicants’ authentic, hands-on experience as part of the application and admission process. In other words, it’s no longer always enough to have shadowed a physician. The requirement for a substantial immersive experience has been rather loose until now, but it’s increasingly becoming a codified requirement in more and more programs.

This very reality was behind the founding of UC’s medical sciences undergraduate program in 2012 and the “Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care” program this summer. (UC’s medical sciences undergraduate attracts up to 1,000 applicants from 26 states, accepting only 100 each year.)

Says Menon, “Most academic programs preparing students for medical, dental, or pharmacy school are what I call ‘opt-in.’ In other words, without a whole lot of authentic background regarding the realities of healthcare, you opt in. Our medical sciences program is more of an opt out. Combined with your initial interest in medicine as a career field, we try to give you lots of exposure so that at the time of your undergraduate graduation, you have the chance to opt out of any particular part of the medical field that’s not right for you before you spend years on a medical school education.”

And the new “Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care” opportunity is a next step toward formalizing the learning and hands-on opportunities for undergraduates (though the new “Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care” is open to UC undergrads beyond the medical science undergraduate program.)

For the summer 2022 pilot, 59 students were accepted to work full time at $17 an hour. Then, in the coming fall and spring terms, 150 students will work 18 hours a week and participate in a seminar class with guest speakers, required readings and reflection papers. Participating students who successfully compete both the hands-on work and academic requirements will not only receive pay but 3 credit hours, a confirmatory note on their academic transcripts as well as a letter of recommendation from their college leadership.

UC Health’s Hoagland-Scarfpin emphasizes, “For the students, it’s their triple win too. You’re going to get paid. You’re going to get credit hours. You’re going to get this exposure backed up by a recommendation letter to help you to the next level if that’s where you want to go.”

“I wish I would have had this opportunity as an undergrad to do something like this,” adds Maus, who worked as a physician’s assistant (PA) before entering the education side of health (and as a PA applicant, was required to show significant hands-on experience in order to apply and enter the PA master’s program).

Student Heins, who plans to continue in the program for the next year with the goal of attending medical school by Fall 2023, agrees, “When it was announced, this program stuck out to me as it was more than just the typical job that someone our age can obtain. We are able to work in multiple specialties as we progress though the semesters and can progress to the emergency department or to once of the ICUs. This mobility and never-ending possibilities to learn is what really attracted me.” 

Featured image at top includes leadership members of the 'Healthcare Exploration in Patient Care' program as well as participating students in this inaugural summer pilot. From left are: College of Allied Health Sciences student Robert Heins; College of Medicine undergraduate Tripura Vithala; UC Health director of educational placement Alex Maus; program originator Art Pancioli, M.D.; associate dean Anil Menon, director of the undergraduate medical sciences program; vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer Teri Grau; and College of Arts and Sciences student Dwijen Shah. Photo by Colleen Kelley.