In 2019, CareerSource NEFL began a partnership with University of Florida Jacksonville Physicians, Inc. (UFJPI) to help the organization fill a critical gap in the medical workforce – applying its customized training program to develop qualified employee-candidates for Medical Assistant/Customer Service Representative (MA/CSRs) positions.
In June, that partnership reached a seven-year milestone as family members and friends attended an intimate graduation ceremony for three more medical assistants – Susan Mortan, Amber Sharp and Jmani Smith – at UF Health’s location off Lem Turner Road in Jacksonville.
The event representing the sixth cohort of trainees to graduate through the partnership, with a total of 38 becoming MA/CSRs through the training program since its inception.
“This program exists because of a powerful partnership between Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), UFJPI and CareerSource Northeast Florida, so thank you to our partners,” said the graduation’s opening speaker Cindy Rogers, UF Health Executive Director of Support Services. “But the reason it matters is that our graduates showed determination and showed heart…and are now part of a group of 38 people who choose to grow, to serve and to make a difference in our clinics and community. We cannot wait to see the impact you’re going to make.”
At the outset of the partnership, CareerSource NEFL had found that local hospitals and medical practices were all competing for the small number of graduates from local MA/CSR training programs and suggested that the health care providers “grow their own” MA/CSRs. CareerSource NEFL connected UFJPI with FSCJ to explore the college’s training programs, and FSCJ developed a training course that could provide current employees with the skills needed to transition to a medical assistant career.
Trainees are selected from UFJPI clinical, support staff and administrative teams, and most made less than $13 an hour at the time. At the end of the first training cycle, students completed training to attain the hybrid title MA/CSR – with each employee-trainee receiving at least a three-percent raise after graduation.
The employee-students did not pay for their training out of pocket, since CareerSource NEFL reimburses the employer (UFJPI) for a percentage of the cost of tuition.
The collaboration represents a great example of how CareerSource NEFL works with businesses to offset the cost of training for current employees to help them move along career paths within their own companies.
Photo Caption: UF Health administrators join with others in celebrating the recent graduation of three medical assistants/customer service representatives. (left to right) Carol Cullen, Industry Manager of Healthcare/CareerSource NEFL; Chris Sexton, Business Solutions Strategist/ FSCJ; Elysia Cochran, Instructional Program Manager/FSCJ; graduates Jmani Smith, Amber Sharp and Susan Mortan (back); Kelly Cabral, FSCJ Instructor; Mia Vincent, Administrator of Nursing and Education Services/UFJPI and Cindy Rogers, Executive Director Support Services/UFJPI.