Join Doug Bryant as he sits down with Kensey Zimmerman of 865 Academies to discuss how an innovative way to education can help guide students into their ideal field. Listen as they discuss how, with the help of The Mason Center for Healthcare Education, this can boost staffing in senior living communities.

‍

Learn more about The Mason Center for Healthcare Education here

‍

Produced by Solinity Marketing

‍

Listen to more episodes of Certify It

‍

‍

Intro

You're listening to Certify It the podcast for advancing your career in care. Powered by The Mason Center for Healthcare Education. Hear news updates and discussions from thought leaders in healthcare around advancing your career through continuing education. Now here's your host, Doug Bryant from the Mason Center.

‍

00:17 - 00:52

Doug Bryant

Welcome to certify the podcast for advancing your career and care. With me today is Kensey Zimmerman. She is the 865 Academies coach at Fulton High School, and I'm so excited to have her here today so we can talk about how we're going to hopefully, together, be able to increase the amount of people that are coming into the healthcare workforce. So for those that are listening outside of the Knox County area or are not familiar with an academy type format, tell us a little bit about what 865 Academies in Knox County are.

‍

00:52 - 02:00

Kensey Zimmerman

So our district, Knox County Schools, has decided that we want to kind of rework the traditional high school model and set it up into an academy structure. So rather than having a large, kind of traditional high school model, we take those large high schools and shrink them down into smaller academies. Each of those academies has their own counselor, their own principal, their own shared set of teachers and shared set of students.

‍

And so you're able to really get to know staff as a student. And the staff are able to really get to know the students well because they keep them year after year, after a year. And so it really allows for great relationship building. Making sure that nobody's falling through the cracks. But the other great thing about it is that students get to choose what academy they want to go into.

‍

And so every student in Knox County, when they start in a high school, is going to start in freshman academy, and then they get to spend some time through that year learning about themselves, learning about offerings that are available, and then choose which direction they want to go.

‍

02:00 - 04:24

Doug Bryant

I remember the first time we met and I learned about the academy concept or model that the district was rolling out. I got really excited because being one of those people that really had no clue what I wanted to do after high school, I thought, what a leg up these students are going to have and how much money they actually can save.

‍

Not going and doing something that they're not even sure they want to do because of the exposure that you all allow these students to have through the internships, externships. We've hosted some of the interns at our West Hills location in therapy, and it's been wonderful just watching their excitement. Or even sometimes it's. This sounds crazy, I guess, but sometimes it's more important finding out what you don't want to do early on than it is even finding out what you want to do. Or figuring out which, you know, you may like healthcare, but there's so many different areas in healthcare that you can go into. Finding out what all of those things are. It's even more important now. You know, there was just a Mercer study that came out this week where they're saying that in 2028, we're going to have 30,000 more RNs in the nation than what we need.

‍

However, in rural communities and in rural areas, and Tennessee is one of those in 2028, even though we're going to have 30,000 more nationwide in Tennessee, we're still going to be short about 3000.  And I think what we do with introducing people to healthcare and giving them pathways to get into healthcare. That's really the way we're going to be able to grow those nurses, because a lot of our students, even here at The Mason Center, may start in something that is non-degree related.

‍

Like CNA classes or Medication Aide. And then that's where they birth that passion for taking care of people, and they'll go on to become nurses. And I think that's really going to be a good way for Tennessee to grow people into nursing to hopefully not have that 3000 nurse shortage that they're projecting in 2028. So when they come in I know that they take their freshmen assessments and all that. But what other ways do you all identify and help students figure out based on their passions?

‍

Mid-Roll

You're listening to Certify It, the podcast for advancing your career in care, brought to you by Propel Insurance. Find innovative insurance solutions in the toughest risk management environments. Over 500 senior care providers nationwide trust Propel to keep their business thriving. Find your momentum with Propel Insurance.

‍

04:46 - 07:14

Kensey Zimmerman

There's not a one size fits all model for every single student. And so often that looks like individual counseling. Counselors are included in this process very much. The student's freshman seminar teacher is informed about what those things can be. I sit down with students and help them make decisions as best as possible. We get them off our campus as much as we possibly can.

‍

We're bringing in guest speakers from the industry for them to get to talk about what a day in their life is like, and so that students can figure it out. “I think that might be my thing.” Or. “No, that is definitely not my thing.” Which, as we've talked about, is just as valuable. And so, we want to provide them as many opportunities as we can.

‍

Now, specific to our building, I also take them on a tour of our building, and they get to see what our health science lab is like. And they're getting to see the sims that they can work with, and they're getting to see our construction classroom or our AV production classroom and think, “Okay, I think I can see myself here.”

They meet students in the pathway. They meet teachers in the pathway. And so all of those pieces kind of come together. Additionally, students also in their freshman year complete an inventory called You Science, and it takes about 90 minutes for them to do that. And instead of it being a traditional interest inventory with multiple choice answers, You Science is a series of brain games - is what we call them.

‍

And the way that students progress through that, You Science has figured out. I don't know how, but it has figured out how that can not only share some information about the students interest and self-reported interest, but it also can help them make decisions about what they may have aptitude for as well. And so it gives them reports that can say, “Hey, here are some things that you have an aptitude for that you may not even know exist yet.”

‍

And so we can then begin to have them dive deeper into those things through a research project that they're doing in seminar. And so, we really want to try to give students there so many opportunities that are available and the number of things that they can do is just so vast. And so how can we expose them to those things as best as possible? We're not going to be perfect in it. But we want to be intentional in those efforts.

‍

07:14 - 08:54

Doug Bryant

So really getting with the kids and the students on the opportunities that are available right out of high school to get into healthcare. A big topic of conversation anymore is student loan debt and how that can be so burdensome. And there's tons of opportunity, like you're saying, and it's just connecting students with those different resources to be able to take that next step.

‍

If health science is something that they want to do. Being able to connect them to resources to help them take the next step so they don't end up with all of that, student student debt. And that's one thing that we do here with our different financial pathways that we have when students come to us and they decide, “Hey, I do want to go to CNA training.” We have healthcare partners that we're able to connect them with. And those healthcare partners actually will pay for their training. So if they come in and they can't afford to do that, they'll pay for their training in exchange for a certain amount of time worked after graduation. We even have some healthcare partners that will pay for their CNA training.

‍

And then after six months of them being a CNA, they'll actually pay for LPN school at an institution like South College. And they truly can go from a CNA all the way to being an LPN to an RN and have zero debt whatsoever. So really what we’re doing is kind of the same. You get them before I can do anything with them. So there's really good synergy in trying to connect the two and connect the dots here.

‍

08:54 - 10:19

Kensey Zimmerman

Absolutely. And when we can get students in these industry experiences and job shadow opportunities and potentially internships as well connected with healthcare partners, but also specifically the Mason Center, I think that that is so huge to expose them to enlistment opportunities right after graduation that they can do. There are employment opportunities right after graduation that they can do, and there are post-secondary enrollment opportunities for them.

‍

And all of those are valid. And we want to support students in whatever is a choice of best fit for them in leading them to the opportunities that are available. And I think that it's so helpful to know that students can step into these careers and step into jobs that are available that we clearly have a need for in our area.

‍

And as they begin to see that and as they begin to have those experiences, they then can have healthcare partners that are interested in helping them upskill, as well as they matriculate through their employment. And I think that that is so huge, because we want to be preparing students not just for the jobs that are available today, but the jobs that are available that are going to be available five and ten years from now. And it's through partnerships like this that I think that that's possible.

‍

10:19 - 10:52

Doug Bryant

And one of the neat things that you all do, too, even with your instructors, are the externships that some of these instructors, God bless their soul, they've been doing educating in these vocational areas for a long time. They bring a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience to that. But the working world is completely different now than when maybe they were nurses in the field. So tell us a little bit about the externships that your faculty do to make sure that what they're teaching remains relevant. Sure.

‍

10:53 - 12:43

Kensey Zimmerman

So it's kind of a twofold benefit. And when we can bring our faculty out on these experiences and just let them see the industry, and ensure that what we are continuing to offer is relevant, that I think is huge, particularly for those CTE,  Career Technical Education, instructors. But also, we are bringing our core content area teachers into these places as well.

‍

And when you think about the life cycle of a core content teacher, they graduated from high school, went to college to learn how to be a teacher, and then they've gone straight back to school. And so they've had no exposure to the industry. And yet, they are teaching students that are going to be there and preparing students for these jobs.

‍

And if they've never had the exposure to know about that, it can be really difficult sometimes to connect and to be able to make references and to be able to even establish their own curricular relevance. And so, it's so helpful when a teacher can get out and experience the industry in a unique way, the impact is huge.

‍

For every one teacher that participates in an externship, 150 students can be impacted. And they then kind of become your salespeople for you to say, “Oh, I went to see The Mason Center, or I went to see X industry, and did you know that you can da da da da” whatever it may be. And so it's through those experiences that our teachers can really begin to connect with students and make long term connections to their core content area and also to the students area of interest as well, which I think is huge.

‍

12:43 - 14:25

Doug Bryant

Well, we're super excited to be partnering with 865 Academies. I say this all the time to my spouse. We do not live in Knox County. We do not have the academy structure in our county that my kids go to school in. And, I always sit back and I'm like, oh, I wish my children could be exposed to a program like this. With the externships, with the faculty, with the internships of the students. It really provides a very well-rounded, reality based exposure to these trades that are so desperate. We talk here on our podcast specifically about healthcare, but there are so many. And in senior living, we need all of those trades. We need maintenance, individuals.  We need people that work in social services. We need people that work in business offices. A lot of times in healthcare we get stuck on the clinical part of it. And even here at The Mason Center, that's what we really, truly focus on is the clinical. But the healthcare world benefits from every type of trade and every core class that you all provide at the 865 Academies.

‍

And it just excites me that we're in a county and operating in a county where we can find synergy, with an initiative like the 865 Academies, so that we can hopefully impact the healthcare industry here in Knox County. Because if we all continue to live here, that's what we're going to need. Eventually we're going to need these students that we're teaching and impacting, and hopefully we're doing a really good job so that we get good quality healthcare workers in our county.

‍

14:25 - 15:12

Kensey Zimmerman

Absolutely. And I am a student that graduated from Fulton High School and now I'm working back there. They shifted to the academy model just after I graduated. And so for me to get to see that shift and what that is like, is so drastic and there were opportunities that were available for me as a student there. But I think the unique thing about 865 Academies is that we're saying we want to do this for every student in the building. This is not something that we just want for the top 10%, or we want for this little pocket of students here. We want to ensure that we're providing these opportunities across the board for every single student that enrolls because we know the value that they have. And so, that I think is crucial.

‍

15:12 - 15:32

Doug Bryant

Well, the work you're doing is greatly appreciated, by people in the industry. And we're just so thankful that there are instructors that are as passionate as you are about helping people find their path in whatever it is that they choose to do post-secondary, post-high school.

‍

15:32 - 15:55

Kensey Zimmerman

Well, we are so thankful for partnerships like this because it's not possible for us to provide these experiences to students if not for the industry. Also, coming alongside the schools to say we want to help lift up that concern we see that that's a need and we want to do what we can to help meet it. And so, it's because of partnerships like this that help make that happen, and we're grateful.

‍

15:55 - 16:26

Doug Bryant

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to come and speak with me. It's been a pleasure being here with you this afternoon. If you would like to connect with Kensey, or find out more information on the 865 academies here in Knox County, we're going to drop all of your information in the show notes so that people can contact you to get whatever information it is that they would like.

‍

You've been listening to Certify It the podcast for advancing your career in care, and we'll see you next time.

‍

Outro

‍

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Certify It by The Mason Center for Healthcare Education. Get connected with us on social media and at themasoncenterknox.com. If you haven't yet, subscribe to this podcast on YouTube and anywhere you get your podcast, and if you're interested in sponsorship or donations to help further our cause of providing affordable, flexible healthcare certification programs for individuals seeking career mobility in skilled nursing, senior living, and long term care fields. Visit themasoncenterknox.com.

‍