NHA News Center

In ACTE’s SmartBrief Education, Courtney Guidry, Director of Work-Based Learning at the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC), outlines how innovative workforce pipelines can help address the nation’s healthcare staffing crisis. With growing shortages of nurses, medical assistants, and patient care technicians, NOCC, in partnership with NHA, has developed a sustainable model that connects high school students and adults to careers in allied health. In 2023 alone, more than 160 trainees earned industry-recognized NHA certifications, helping local providers fill critical staffing gaps.

The first-ever HOSA-Future Health Professionals Patient Care Technician (PCT) competition was launched last fall to prepare students for in-demand real-world roles in patient care. NHA helped to support and develop this program as part of our broader mission to elevate allied health careers and support students with certification pathways that lead to success in high-demand, high-impact jobs.

A recent case study from the Healthcare Workforce Coalition showcases the story of Ana Vazquez and her journey from Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) to NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA).

The Healthcare Workforce Coalition, of which Ascend Learning and NHA are founding members, developed a case study spotlighting Esteban Ramirez, an NHA-certified Patient Care Technician in Arizona.

National Healthcareer Association (NHA) has launched its NHA Membership Community, a new platform designed to help allied healthcare professionals network, share insights, and access exclusive career resources. 
 
This milestone follows the March launch of NHA’s Membership, now available to more than 500,000 NHA-certified professionals. Members enjoy benefits such as specialized content, early access to NHA’s career center, professional development resources, exclusive discounts, continuing education courses, and free recertification. 
 
With the new Membership Community, NHA members can connect directly with peers, filling a gap in professional networking and peer-to-peer support in the allied health field. 
 
“At NHA, we’re consistently working to provide allied health professionals at every stage of their career access to a better future,” said Kathy Hunter, Segment Leader for NHA. “Membership Community will provide NHA members with a first-of-its-kind platform that will connect allied health workers so they can share experiences and gain knowledge and support from professional peers.” 
 
To learn more about NHA Membership, CLICK HERE.  

Providing opportunities for entry-level employees to advance their career with industry-recognized credentials can help improve retention and patient care. That’s exactly what Tennessee Oncology did by partnering with NHA client Nashville State Community College.

NHA will release a new version of the Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A) study materials in Summer 2026 and exam coming in Fall 2026. We will provide more specific timeframes closer to launch. See below for more details. 

National Healthcareer Association (NHA) recently announced a new partnership with HOSA-Future Health Professionals, a global student-led organization working to develop future leaders in the global health community, to launch a new competitive event for students to develop skills needed to become a Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A).

NHA will release a new version of the Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) study materials and practice tests on October 8, 2025 and a new version of the exam on January 7, 2026. See below for more details.

In a new case study from the Healthcare Workforce Coalition, of which Ascend Learning and NHA is a founding member, Quontisha Chisholm shares her journey to becoming a Certified Medical Assistant.