Motivated minds can climb like vines up a career lattice.
The most recent trend in education is building career lattices, ladders, and pathways — a group of related jobs, either similar in level or each a slight advancement over the last, that form a profession. San Jacinto College is nationally recognized for their pathway projects that propel students further in their education.
The HPOG-funded Health Career Pathways Partnership Grant (HCPP) provides tuition-free training to qualified low-income individuals in four main health occupation fields: Patient Care Technology, Pharmacy Technology, Medical Office Professional, and Medical Laboratory Technology.
Once enrolled in a core program, participants can grow in the direction of their choosing. HCPP helps the school partner with local industry experts to analyze labor market trends and review student success data, curriculum, facilities and equipment, and job placement. This information has led to rapid expansion of and extreme interest in HCPP program offerings. At its Central Campus, San Jacinto College receives over 900 applications per semester for the 100 available spaces in its Associate Degree Nurse (ADN) course.
The capacity issue is addressed by restructuring the lattice and offering more courses to students. The popularity of the ADN certification under the Patient Care Technology pathway led the school to encourage students to enter the Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) level 1 certificate program. Once complete, this program allows participants to move directly into the ADN certification and beyond.
Capacity concerns also created more offerings in the Patient Care Technology pathway in fields like Surgical Technician, Sonography, Radiography, and Eye Care Technology. Similarly, the Medical Office Professional track was once limited to two entry-level certificates. This created a large learning gap between training and job placement. An analysis of industry growth determined the track needed more courses that provided career growth, such as Insurance Verification, Certified Coder, and Certified Biller. The Billing and Coding Program requires only 30 credit hours and is directly integrated into the accredited Associate Degree in Health Information Management (HIT).
The HCPP lattice structure shows students that they have the potential to pursue a career — not just a job — in healthcare role they may not have considered.
To meet growing demand, HCPP has implemented new programs and offerings that connect participants with a fulfilling career pathway in the healthcare field.
This Promising Practice was self-identified by the grantee and information contained in this document was provided by the grantee.
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