Texas Health Physicians Group (THPG) launched the FastTrack certified medical assistant (CMA) Apprentice program on Dec. 5.
The program is intended to foster a stronger pipeline of diverse qualified candidates, improved competency development, earlier job readiness and increased retention of new hires for hard-to-fill THPG medical assistant positions.
At Texas Health (and other local health systems), the number of medical assistant openings currently exceeds the available talent pool of qualified CMAs. And the number of CMAs graduating from traditional six-month medical assistant programs is simply not enough to meet our staffing needs in a timely manner. The FastTrack program presents an innovative opportunity to develop our own pipeline of qualified medical assistants.
The apprenticeship program is made possible via a U.S. Labor Department grant to the Dallas County Community College District to develop accelerated job training programs in specific business sectors. The FastTrack program is also part of Texas Health’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative to recruit employees who reflect the communities we serve.
How it works
The FastTrack program is based on an “Earn as You Learn” model that Texas Health Resources University (THRU) has used successfully in similar programs for Texas Health. It equips CMA candidates with the priority skills and proficiency to practice safely, and includes clinical skills validation, professional development with soft skills, and mentorship.
The program also incorporates the medical assistant core curriculum of the National HealthCareer Association (NHA). The first 10 weeks consist of daily, in-person learning at the THPG Training Center in Euless, where candidates are taught clinical skills by THPG coaches and Dallas College instructors.
By the 10th week of this accelerated program, the candidates are ready to take the medical assistant certification exam administered by the NHA. Once certified, the new CMAs complete a five-week externship at a THPG practice.
After successfully completing the 15-week, FastTrack CMA Apprentice program, CMAs will transfer to a new practice as a THPG employee.
Value creation for Texas Health:
THPG will hold a job fair for the first cohort of this program in mid-January to help match the CMA apprentices with open medical assistant positions at a Texas Health practice after graduation. Hiring managers will have the opportunity to interview medical assistant candidates.
While this initial cohort has 20 candidates, we intend to scale up to execute multiple FastTrack programs throughout the year.
Published December 7, 2022
