Conclusion
The degree apprenticeship is not a miracle cure. It will not create more faculty and preceptors or expand the capacity of the health care workforce development system. But it does promise to make the system more efficient by boosting degree completion rates and reducing early-career attrition. Students benefit from hundreds of hours of paid work-based learning, applying what they’ve been taught in the classroom and deepening their expertise. They’re supported by a trained mentor who can answer questions and offer support during difficult moments. And after the apprenticeship is over, there are no surprises on the first day as an independent professional. They know the job, they’re confident in their knowledge and skills, and they’re ready to work.
At the same time, degree apprenticeship opens doors to well-paying health care jobs to people who are now shut out of them. The certified nursing assistant who has always wanted to become a nurse but cannot stop working. The behavior technician who dreams of being a mental health counselor but cannot afford to take on a second unpaid job. The imaging aide with two children and bills to pay who wants to administer X-rays and not just escort patients to and from the waiting room. Degree apprenticeship is built to meet the needs of these aspiring health professionals.
Through collaboration and innovation, leaders around the country are creating degree apprenticeships for health care careers that are just as rigorous as traditional programs, but that are accessible to low-income people because they pay for the supervised practice hours that traditional programs require them to complete for free. They are implementing strategies that can transform degree apprenticeship from a promising idea into a scalable system. Online instruction allows apprentices to complete the classroom components of their degree programs around their work schedules, eliminating the barriers that have historically confined quality programs to well-resourced urban institutions. Regional employer collaboratives that share clinical training resources across institutions make it possible for smaller hospitals, rural health systems, and community-based behavioral health agencies to participate alongside large academic medical centers. And recruiting apprentices from within the health care system ensures that programs start with motivated participants who understand the demands of health careers, which shortens orientation time, strengthens clinical learning, and produces graduates who need no onboarding because they have been part of their employer’s team throughout their training. By itself, degree apprenticeship will not solve the health care workforce crisis, but it is a powerful tool to widen the pipeline and deliver the diverse, skilled health care workforce that America’s communities urgently need.
