The Accelerated Health Care Career Training Program

Funder: Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth
Amount: $1,249,000.00
Funding Period: 11/01/06 - 10/31/07

This partnership between Mott Community College, Genesys Regional Medical Center, McLaren Regional Medical Center, and the University of Michigan-Flint is aimed at solving the current shortage of nurses in the workforce at the local level at the local level. To reach this goal, the Accelerated Health Care Career Training Program identifies and utilizes professional nurses from the current workforce as mentors and tutors in the educational institutions and in various clinical settings of the hospitals. The program provides concentrated, professional mentoring and tutoring for students identified as at-risk for dropout, delayed graduation or failure on the nursing board exam. The students also benefit by having the opportunity to be given personal perspectives on nursing from someone employed and living in the locale, including advice and resources regarding the local labor market and the hospital environment. By increasing the retention rate of students, on-time graduation rate, and successful completion of the certification exam, the availability of students to the workforce will be accelerated.

Additionally, the Accelerated Health Care Career Training Program will help address the shortage of nursing faculty that is anticipated at both educational institutions by providing a new pool of candidates from among the professional mentors and tutors who are participating in the program. The involvement of Faith Access to Community Economic Development (FACED) will assist in identifying and recruiting a diverse group of mentors and tutors, thus strengthening the program and, increasing the diversity of faculty at both institutions.