Dr. Stacey Ocander, Nebraska Hospital Association: Helping Young People Choose Healthcare Careers

Studies show that when it comes to getting people interested in any career, early exposure can make a significant impact on their ultimate choice. That helps explain why a program in Nebraska that’s aimed at cultivating interest in healthcare jobs begins in the third grade. As we learn in this episode of WorkforceRx, the Health Careers Pipeline Initiative is just one of several workforce development strategies being pursued by the Nebraska Hospital Association under the guidance of Dr. Stacey Ocander, the association's senior director of workforce and education initiatives. “You really have to start the excitement young. You have to be the people who establish the strongest relationship before something that may be negative in their life gets a hold of them,” says Ocander, a self-described creative disruptor. The program starts with exposing youngsters to thirty-two healthcare occupations and gradually winnows that number down to one or two as students discover their interests through summer camps and internships in middle school and high school. Ocander sees this sustained contact as critical. “My goal is by the time they're a senior, our hospitals are engaged to help them pay for that first two years of college to get them to that first license.” Join Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan for an encouraging exploration of innovative partnerships between hospitals and educators and the benefits of doing ‘business as unusual.’