Contributors: Keith Boring, Phillip Trezza, RACR and Carl Vickers

Hiring in healthcare is difficult. Finding a person with all the right qualifications plus the professionalism skills that elevate performance is no easy task for employers. However, there’s a large pool of potential candidates who have been trained in a way that instills a strong work ethic, cultural competence, and the leadership experience employers desire. Unfortunately,
this group’s training program is not well-understood, often leaving them overlooked.

Carolyn Mayer worked as a corporate travel agent for most of her professional career, but after leaving the travel industry to be a stay-at-home mom, she learned about a career in pharmacy. At the age of 53, with a college background in math and science, becoming a pharmacy technician appealed to Mayer, who started working for Kinney Drugs just five years ago.

Can you imagine if healthcare professionals didn’t continue to educate themselves throughout their careers? Tenured individuals would be using dated, and potentially dangerous, methods. Just search the internet for “bizarre medical treatments in history,” and prepare to be amazed at what we once thought were legitimate health practices.

In an increasingly diverse population, healthcare providers continue to face unique situations where culture intersects with healthcare delivery and often impacts outcomes. With a new focus on improving providers’ cultural competence, healthcare systems are deploying educational programs to elevate healthcare professionals’ abilities to connect with patients in a meaningful way, regardless of culture.