Gundersen partnership with Health Science Academy opens door to a career in healthcare

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Gundersen partnership with Health Science Academy opens door to a career in healthcare

Like many high school students, Josh Krause had an idea of what he wanted to do after graduation, but choosing a career to pursue right away seemed daunting. He liked the idea of working with computers, but he also felt drawn to healthcare.

In the end, he decided to explore what's possible in the medical world - even if he wasn't sure where in that world he might land. That's when he became involved with the Health Science Academy (HSA), which was the perfect option at the right time.

"Unless you do have some sort of experience or family in healthcare, it's hard to really know what you want to do," Krause says, "so the Academy really offered me an opportunity to see what healthcare would be like before I got into college, and it made my decision feel more looked into."

A head start for healthcare

The HSA is a program offered to high school juniors and seniors within the School District of La Crosse who undergo a rigorous application process. The program is an opportunity to learn and actively participate in healthcare-related experiences.

Gundersen partners with the HSA and the students in many ways, offering job shadows and learning about the many different professional roles that support healthcare organizations by attending the Pathway to Healthcare summit.

Also, through the partnership, students can enroll in the Nurse Aide Training program. Students in this program show an aptitude for healthcare and want to pursue the possibility of entering the field. The program is offered to eight to 12 students, and the curriculum is completed in 14 weeks.

There are two cohorts: juniors in the spring of the year and seniors in the fall. When the students complete the program, they can register for the written and skills exams to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Once that happens, the next steps can lead in several directions.

"We've had many Gundersen employees who were HSA students and participated in our Nurse Aide Training program and are now CNAs, SOAs, RNs, physician assistants, operational directors and physicians," says Stephanie Everson, clinical manager in the Gundersen Department of Nursing.

The nurses aide program at HSA was established in 2017 as a six-month program. But because some students couldn't complete the program, organizers, along with the program's new primary instructors Elizabeth Laack and Macala Hale, both of whom are Gundersen registered nurses, decided it was time to refresh the structure of the course, as well as the curriculum. So, it was shortened to 14 intensive weeks, Everson says, and students used their allocated time outside the classroom, as well as no-school days, to complete the Nurse Aide and HSA work.

The goal of the program, according to Chet Doering, enterprise director of Talent and Acquisition at Gundersen, "is to initially engage our local high school students with a career in healthcare, while getting them onto the path to becoming a CNA at Gundersen. Through Gundersen's investment in the program, we are seeing a nice payoff, which benefits these students, our organization and the patients we serve every day."

'It really does put you ahead'

Krause, a La Crosse Central graduate, doesn't have a family legacy in healthcare, but he says he was drawn to it because of the care his family's received over the years. He was especially interested in nursing, not only for the movement available within the role, but for the leadership possibilities, especially at Gundersen.

So, he made the commitment to the HSA, and over the course of his upperclassmen years, he spent parts of his school day shadowing Gundersen providers and taking college-level classes that earned him college credit - which saved time and money after high school - and generally embracing a more healthcare-aligned course of study.

"It does really put you ahead of where you would be starting college, compared with other students," he says.

The same can be said about the job shadows. By the time he graduated from the Academy, Krause had already witnessed surgeries with Gundersen doctors, been alongside nurses on their rounds, and observed other roles in the system he didn't realize were a part of the healthcare continuum.

"That was really helpful, not only just to see them, but to understand how healthcare works in general," he says.

Eventually, Krause was successful in attaining his CNA certification, and he worked in cardiopulmonary for the next four years while attending school at UW-La Crosse. After a year of nursing school at UW-Oshkosh, he returned to his hometown looking for a job - and he knew right where to start.

He already knew Gundersen, and the people in cardiopulmonary knew him - and didn't hesitate to hire him on as a nurse trainee when he applied. Now, he's on his way to becoming a nurse.

"It's made the transition so much easier from being a CNA to being a nurse," he says. "I love La Crosse. I grew up here, so it's kind of that next step for me, and that's really exciting."

Krause's experience is a textbook example of how the HSA can jumpstart a career.

"We do everything possible to make sure that they have opportunities," Doering says. "We really want them to join our organization, and we also want to get them on to the path to advance their healthcare knowledge, their career, their education, however they see fit. This is a spark for them to be able to leverage their talents and passion in healthcare."

And for Krause, it's just the beginning.

"I love who I work with, and it's a definitely a place I feel comfortable and look forward to working for."

To learn more about CNA and other training programs Gundersen offers, visit gundersenhealth.org/careers/training-programs.