Clark recognized for work on medical apprenticeships

Kathy Clark, manager of medical apprenticeships at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been selected as the Innovation in Human Resources honoree, as part of the St. Louis Business Journal’s annual HR Awards. The awards recognize individuals and organizations for influential work in human resources that benefits the St. Louis region.

Clark received the award for her dedication to the Medical Apprenticeship Program, which aims to recruit, train and support medical assistants through on-the-job training. The program launched in 2018 to support the St. Louis workforce by eliminating financial barriers to medical assistant training. Medical assistants take patients’ vital signs, draw blood and administer vaccines. They also schedule appointments, fill out insurance forms and coordinate laboratory services, among other duties.

Local and federal programs cover tuition for the training, and apprentices are hired by School of Medicine departments as full-time employees who receive benefits. They are in class four hours a day and learn hands-on skills in clinics the remaining time.

The 12-week program recently was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a model program. Further, it is an example of Washington University’s mission of being “in St. Louis, for St. Louis” — helping to meet the region’s biggest challenges by providing good jobs, delivering world-class medical care, and conducting vital research, among myriad other contributions.

Source: Read Full Article