Beyond nursing, specialized healthcare roles need qualified professionals to meet Utah’s healthcare needs.
The big picture
CommonSpirit Health is focusing on creating connections with schools to promote fields like mammography, nuclear medicine, echo technology, and respiratory therapy.
“There’s been so much effort throughout the state for nurses, which we are very grateful. But when we think about our radiology partners, there are several modalities within radiology, specifically mammography, and nuclear medicine, where we really are partnering with the schools,” says Katie Flores, Chief Nursing Officer at CommonSpirit Health.
Why it matters
These specialized roles require specific training and education that begins with early awareness and outreach. Building the pipeline requires multi-level partnerships that begin with outreach at the high school level. The approach includes creating more clinical rotation opportunities across various settings while expanding placement options for respiratory students who often face limited training opportunities.
What they’re doing
CommonSpirit Health is creating pathways for students to gain hands-on experience in emergency departments, surgical areas, and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
“We’ve really partnered with the different schools to say, how can we provide more clinical rotations? Whether that be, we have a freestanding up in Roy, an E.R. to the surgical areas. We’ve got some NICUs that we can get them experience and really, focusing on getting that pipeline going,” says Flores.
The bottom line
Building interest in specialized healthcare roles starts early—and CommonSpirit Health is creating opportunities for students to prepare for these essential healthcare careers.