October is Health Career Awareness Month in Vermont

A talented, engaged, diverse, and geographically distributed workforce is at the heart of Vermont’s health care infrastructure.

October is designated Health Care Career Awareness Month in Vermont (1 V.S.A. § 376), an opportunity to highlight the importance of health careers in our state. Annually, schools, hospitals, clinics, and an array of organizations and individuals are all encouraged to give special attention to health workforce development and promotion during the month of October. Participating in October Health Care Career Awareness Month amplifies a shared message about job opportunities in Vermont and cultivates the workforce needed now and into the future. The Vermont Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network invites you to join us in this important work.

Vermont has a shortage of medical professionals. Health workforce shortages impact access to care for Vermonters and increase health disparities in rural and underserved communities. AHEC knows that a talented, engaged, diverse, and geographically distributed workforce is at the heart of Vermont's health care infrastructure. AHEC is committed to enhancing community based and statewide efforts to grow and sustain the health workforce.

AHEC works across the healthcare workforce pipeline from middle school students to practicing health professionals. AHEC provides programs that connect students to careers (e.g., MedQuest, HERO, CSHIP, PEP, HPEP), professionals to communities (e.g., education loan repayment, continuing medical education), and communities to better health (e.g., Power of Dignity, health improvement projects, improved access to care).

AHEC's website is an excellent resource that shows there are many health careers to choose from and multiple training pathways to suit individual aspirations and resources. For example, federal and state Department of Labor statistics indicate that health careers are among the most promising careers in Vermont with jobs like dental hygienists, LPNs, RNs, respiratory therapists, and radiologic technologists averaging over $30/hour. Training for these jobs is available in Vermont.

Along with a rewarding career, job security, excellent pay and benefits, and opportunities for advancement, health professionals across Vermont make a positive difference in people's lives. Whether you are a practicing health professional in Vermont or are thinking about becoming one, Vermont AHEC is ready to support you.

Please visit your regional AHEC: Southern Vermont AHEC, svtahec.org and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, Northern Vermont AHEC, nvtahec.org, UVM AHEC Program, vtahec.org, and vthealthcareers.org.

Written in collaboration by Dr. Jennifer Scott, PsyD, ABPP, Executive Director, Southern Vermont AHEC, Nicole LaPointe, EdD, MSW, Executive Director, Northern Vermont AHEC, and Elizabeth Côté, Director, Office of Primary Care and AHEC Program, The Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont.

Reference

Title 1: General Provisions Chapter 007: Legal Holidays; Commemorative Days (Cite as: 1 V.S.A. § 376)

§ 376. Health Care Career Awareness Month

October of each year is designated as Health Care Career Awareness Month