Ryan Henry
Gundersen Health System
Like many high school students, Josh Krause had an idea of what he wanted to do after graduation, but choosing a career seemed daunting. He liked computers, but also felt drawn to health care.That’s when he became involved with the Health Science Academy.“Unless you do have some sort of experience or family in health care, it’s hard to really know what you want to do,” Krause says, “so the academy really offered me an opportunity to see what health care would be like before I got into college, and it made my decision feel more looked into.”A head start The health academy is a program offered to high school juniors and seniors in the School District of La Crosse who undergo a rigorous application process. The program is an opportunity to learn and participate in health-related experiences.
People are also reading…
Gundersen partners with the academy and the students, offering job shadows and learning about the many different professional roles that support health care organizations.Through the partnership, students can also enroll in the Nurse Aide Training program. The program is offered to eight to 12 interested students who show an aptitude, 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 exams to become a certified nursing assistant. 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,” said Stephanie Everson, clinical manager in the Gundersen Department of Nursing.The nurses aide program was established in 2017 as a six-month course. But because some students couldn’t complete the program, organizers, along with its new primary instructors Elizabeth Laack and Macala Hale, both of whom are registered nurses, decided it was time to refresh the curriculum. It was shortened to 14 intensive weeks, Everson says, and students used their allocated time outside the classroom to complete the 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 health care, while getting them onto the path to becoming a CNA at Gundersen. Through Gundersen’s investment … we are seeing a nice payoff, which benefits these students, our organization and the patients we serve every day.”Getting aheadKrause, a Central High graduate, doesn’t have a family legacy in health care, 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.So, he made the commitment, shadowed providers, took college-level classes that also earned him college credit and generally embraced a more health care-aligned course of study.“It does really put you ahead of where you would be starting college,” he said.The same can be said about the job shadows. By the time he graduated from the academy, Krause had already witnessed surgeries, been alongside nurses on their rounds and observed other roles he didn’t realize were a part of the health care continuum.“That was really helpful, not only just to see them, but to understand how health care 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 health care 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 health care.”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.”
#lee-outstream-wrap {
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
display: none;
position: relative;
}
#lee-outstream-wrap .ima-controls-div { z-index: 99; }
#lee-outstream-wrap .lee-outstream-video {
position: relative;
padding-bottom: 56.25%;
height: 0;
}
#lee-outstream-wrap .lee-outstream-video video {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
z-index:1;
}
#lee-outstream-close {
display: none;
position: absolute;
cursor: pointer;
top: -25px;
left: -25px;
padding: 10px;
overflow: hidden;
background-color: #000;
border-radius: 20px;
color: #fff;
z-index: 99;
line-height: 0;
box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) 0px 0px 5px 0px;
}
#lee-outstream-close:hover { color: rgba(255,255,255,.8); }
#lee-outstream-wrap.sticky {
position: fixed;
bottom:0;
right:0;
width: 400px;
z-index: 1000;
height: auto;
box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) 0px 0px 10px 0px;
}
#lee-outstream-wrap.sticky #lee-outstream-close{ display: block; }
@media (max-width: 767px){
#lee-outstream-wrap.sticky { width: 60%; }
}
0 Comments
#lee-rev-content { margin:0 -5px; }
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-family: inherit!important;
font-weight: 700!important;
border-left: 8px solid var(–lee-blox-link-color);
text-indent: 7px;
font-size: 24px!important;
line-height: 24px;
}
#lee-rev-content .rc-provider {
font-family: inherit!important;
}
#lee-rev-content h4 {
line-height: 24px!important;
font-family: “serif-ds”,Times,”Times New Roman”,serif!important;
margin-top: 10px!important;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-size: 18px!important;
line-height: 18px;
}
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article {
clear: both;
background-color: #fff;
color: #222;
background-position: bottom;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 15px 0 20px;
margin-bottom: 40px;
border-top: 4px solid rgba(0,0,0,.8);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.2);
display: none;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article,
#pu-email-form-health-email-article p {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article h2 {
font-size: 24px;
margin: 15px 0 5px 0;
font-family: “serif-ds”, Times, “Times New Roman”, serif;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article .lead {
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article .email-desc {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
opacity: 0.7;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article form {
padding: 10px 30px 5px 30px;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article .disclaimer {
opacity: 0.5;
margin-bottom: 0;
line-height: 100%;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article .disclaimer a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
#pu-email-form-health-email-article .email-hammer {
border-bottom: 3px solid #222;
opacity: .5;
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 10px 5px 10px;
margin-bottom: -5px;
font-size: 16px;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#pu-email-form-health-email-article form {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0;
}
}
.grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; }
Build your health & fitness knowledge
Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!
