Try this! Write down the reasons why you want to work in healthcare. It may be that you want to help people, a family member's experience working in healthcare, or maybe a personal experience where a healthcare worker made a difference in your life. Not only will this help motivate you as you work towards your career, but will also be useful when you write your personal statement for the applications.

Share in the comments below with some of your reasons why you think healthcare is right for you.

• Tips about some of the topics in this padlet.

• Your personal success stories

• Feedback on the Padlet

Posts should be helpful and not negative comments.  

Examples:  Do you have any information about transfer applications to schools?  Do you have a volunteer organization you love that is hiring?

• patient care services (i.e.nurses, doctor, & medical assistants)

• medical office positions (i.e. medical billing, hospital administration, or medical illustration)

• healthcare adjacent careers (i.e. community worker, data science analyst, or veterinarian) 

Explore more about different careers using the links:

• Zippia-Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry

• Zippia-Healthcare Support

• Zippia-Community and Social Services

• Career Videos

• explorehealthcareers.org

Learn more about jobs in healthcare from first-hand stories of people working in these careers using Wingspans. (Required login using Edmonds College student email account information.)

For Healthcare CCS courses, consider taking STEM100 or AHE100. 

AHE 116 - Introduction to Healthcare, (4.0 credits), explores healthcare careers and trends in healthcare in addition to factors to consider when working in healthcare.

Register for these or other prerequisite courses using ctclink.

Check the Edmonds College class schedule for courses offered each quarter.

Directions: Use the link to find the contact in the spreadsheet with experience advising for your career interests and email them your questions or request a meeting to discuss your career choices and how to get started towards the healthcare career.

To self-explore careers connected to your self-assessment results, search careers on the Career Coach website.

Review your results and chat with someone about next steps: Contact the Career Action Center to schedule an appointment with Anne Penny at apenny@edmonds.edu

Volunteering or job shadowing are excellent opportunities to learn first hand from professionals working in the career if the career is the right fit for you. 

Some professional schools, like physician's assistant (PA) or physicians, require applicants to job shadowing before applying. 

You never know when this networking you do could even lead to letters of recommendation or even a job.

Some Tips for finding Job Shadowing:

• Ask someone you know: Your own doctor, family members in medicine

• Call a hospital volunteer office

  • Seattle Children's Hospital

  • UW Medicine

• Ask professors for contacts they may know

We recommend reaching out to our academic advising department to plan the courses you need to earn prerequisites for your career and check your degree plan to make sure you are on track for applying to programs and graduating.

Academic Advisors Specializing in Healthcare Pathways Book an appointment with one of these Academic Advisors:

• Cathy Dominguez- Allied Health Education/Health and Human Services

• Lung Le- Biology DTA, Pre-Medicine and Pre-nursing DTA

• Wendy Crozier- Healthcare Administration careers

Contact an advisor using the website link above and start planning your academic courses using the quarterly academic planning sheet.

Check out the club website for upcoming events and sign up for email updates on club events. 

You can also connect with SNO on Instagram:  edmondsc_nursingorg

If you are interested in being an officer, contact the club advisor or organization via email at:  edc_sno_so@student.edmonds.edu
Club Advisors: Lori Hays, PhD and Penny Watridge, RN

To apply as a mentor or mentee and learn more about the program select the website link or email rise@edmonds.edu

Watch the video with helpful information to make the transfer application process easier for you. Here are the slides from the video.

Try This! Use this transfer application checklist to stay on track with your transfer process.

Watch this workshop video for tips on writing a personal statement.

The Learning Support Center has a writing center to help you review your personal statements.

Select the link above for help creating your resume, practice interviewing, or search for a job using Handshake. (NOTE: To access Handshake, you will need to select Edmonds Community College as your school and use your student email login.)

When an emergency situation arises and you need short term financial aid, Edmonds College has an emergency fund you can apply for aid up to $2,000.  Learn more by visiting the Student Services- Resource Hub on the Edmonds College website to learn more and apply.

Try This! Use this financial aid checklist from MESA to help you explore your financial aid options.

Trends in Washington state are similar to national growth demand in the industry. 

HOW TO SEARCH JOBS: To examine specific career demands in Washington state, search for a career by typing in the box on the Washington State Employment Security Department career search website in the link above. NOTE: When searching for medical billing, it comes up with medical assistant. Instead try searching "billing & posting" or "medical secretary" for this position.

Learn more about national outlooks for healthcare careers from the U.S. Dept. of Labor and Statistics.

Select the website link above to connect with the center to go over the various steps needed to meet the licensing requirements and also talk about short certificates to work in healthcare while going through the process. 

NOTE: Contact OIP with any questions you have about academic requirements, VISA status, employment, or other questions unique to your situation.

Nursing - LPN and ADN-RN programs in Washington state require the TEAS or NEX (formerly PAX) test, depending on the school.  Most BSN programs do not require entrance exams, but may have supplemental essay questions. (NOTE: WSU nursing also requires the TEAS test.)  Out of state schools may require the HESI or HSRT tests.

Dental Hygiene - Dental Hygiene programs in Washington state may also require the TEAS or HSRT tests.

Dental School - Dental school programs in Washington state require the DAT test.

Medical School- Medical schools require the MCAT, which is a comprehensive exam testing knowledge of a variety of science, math, English, and psychology content. Extensive preparation for the MCAT is highly recommended.

View the presentation link to get an idea of which academic requirements are needed for different healthcare careers.

Select the link above to explore the information and check out their videos on their YouTube Channel:  PreMedCC

•  See if healthcare careers are right for you:

  • Learn about the personal qualities needed for a job in healthcare.

  • Take a personal interest quiz to learn your career interests and skills.

• Explore different healthcare careers:

  • Read about different jobs in healthcare and healthcare adjacent careers.

  • Compare your personal interest quiz results with careers in healthcare.

  • Enroll in a class at Edmonds College to help you explore healthcare careers.

• Network with others in the healthcare industry:

  • Learn about job shadowing and how to network with people already working in the industry.

In this section of the resource guide, you can learn more about the academic pathways for different healthcare careers and the programs at Edmonds College to help you complete the prerequisite courses.

In this section of the resource guide, learn about the employment trends for different healthcare careers, licensing and certificate requirements, and helpful resources to help you find a job including:

• Career Action Center with Handshake

• Interview tips

• Internships

• Volunteering

• Connect with others at Edmonds College:

  • STEM Peer Mentor/Mentee Program

  • STEM MESA Program

  • Men of Color Scholars Program

  • Student Nurses Organization (SNO)

• Learn about others like you:

  • Read our student success stories to visualize yourself through their experiences.

  • Connect with organizations locally and nationally for tips on medical careers.

• Provide Feedback for others:

  • Leave tips for others to share your experiences.

  • Provide feedback about this resource guide.

Try This! Use the school template to compile information about the schools you are interested in.

In addition, the Student Nurses Organization has compiled a list of volunteer opportunities that also include non-healthcare and online options.

Some classes at Edmonds College also have Service Learning opportunities. Learn more about these opportunities on the Service Learning website.

For additional information on internships including finding an internship using the Handshake app, select the internship link to connect with our Career Action Center.

Here are some specific internships for students interested in healthcare:

• Neurological Surgery Summer Student Program 

• Seattle Children's Hospital Summer Scholars Program

• UW Summer Health Professions - Medical, Dental, Public Health

  (Also this website for UW Summer Health Professions- UW-SHPEP)

• Eastern Washington University - RIDE Dentistry Program

• UWRA - Research Related to Aging or Older Adults Scholarship at UW

• Reach out to your instructor via email or office hours and ask questions.

• STEM Study Room- Located in HZL 208, there are STEM tutors and often faculty holding office hours to help you with science or math subjects.  You can also use this room to study alone or with friends.

• Learning Support Center- Located in MUK 113, the LSC has tutors to support students taking most all classes on campus including all types of math and writing.  Help is available both in-person and remotely via etutoring and Zoom.

• Math Center - Math support, including tutoring and protectored tests, for students in pre-college math courses.

• TRIO- Are you a low-income, first generation college student or have a disability?  TRIO is a federally funded program for eligible students that includes a variety of services including personal tutoring.

You may also find a need for other student support services on campus, such as the food pantry, emergency funding, counseling and wellness, and more.  Select the link to learn about the many student resources available to you at Edmonds College.

In this section, you can learn more about the resources at Edmonds College to help you on your way to a healthcare career.

• The Welcome Back Center can help any internationally trained medical professionals transition to a healthcare career in the USA and navigate the licensing requirements.

• Our Office of International Programs is for international students enrolled at Edmonds College pursuing an academic program.

• The English Language Institute offers classes to teach English to students to accelerate your English journey.

• Resources for DACA and undocumented immigrants.

Foreign transcripts may also need to be evaluated or translated. Discuss your situation with OIP to confirm how this applies to your situation.

U.S. Government - Foreign Transcripts

OPT: All international students on an F-1 VISA wanting to work off campus requires an application for OPT (optional practical training). International students need to be enrolled full-time for at least one full academic year to applying for OPT and are not allowed to pursue a full course of study while on OPT. Contact the OIP advisors and learn more on the OPT website.

Select the link above to connect with the OIP staff at Edmonds College.

Interactive Slides from the video: Nursing Advising link

Additional information: Washington Center for Nursing: Be a Nurse website.

Select the link above for I-BEST program information, courses available, and I-BEST advisors.

Watch the video link to learn how to choose a career based on your interests.

• Academic advising

• Healthcare Transfer Center

• I-BEST program

• Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)

• Veterans Resources

• Financial aid (Scholarships, etc)

• Tutoring

• Learning Support Center (Tutoring and Writing Center)

To find scholarships try some of these sources:

• MESA Scholarship Database

• College Financial Aid Departments

  • Edmonds College Foundation Scholarships

  • UW Scholarship Database

• Career Specific Scholarships

  • Nurse Corps Scholarship

  • HEET Grant- Nursing programs

Another way to fund your education may be through:

• Employer Programs

  • SEIU Healthcare Training Fund

  • Swedish Hospital Employee Tuition Program

  • Bright Horizons

  • Advent Health

  • CVS

  • General Hospital Degree Reimbursement Program

• Military

  • Military-HPSP

  • VA Education Benefits

• healthcare administration/business office professionals

• public health and community workers promoting community health

• data science and information technology

• and many others.

Learn more about some health adjacent careers:

• Public Health Careers

• Data Science Careers

• Healthcare Administration Careers

• Veterinary Careers

• Mental Health Careers

Participants in the program will have opportunities to connect with other scholars, students, staff, faculty, and the general Edmonds College community. Select the website link to apply and contact for more information.

General Information for Transferring:

• UW-Seattle Transfer information

• UW-Bothell Transfer information

• WSU Transfer information

• WWU Transfer information

• Seattle University Transfer information

• Seattle Pacific Transfer information

One of the best ways to learn about the different transfer programs, is to attend an informational session for the transfer program you are interested in.

Healthcare Program Specific Transfer Information:

• UW-Seattle -BSN information session schedule

• Seattle University-BSN video (2022)

You will also want to make sure your courses will transfer to the universities and college programs. Check with an academic advisor for help with this and use the transfer equivalency guides below to help you.

Transfer Equivalency Guides:

• UW-Seattle

• Seattle University

• Seattle Pacific University

• Central Washington University

• Pacific Lutheran University

• Shoreline CC-Nursing

• Bellevue College

In order to apply to these programs, you must first get your bachelor's degree. Does it matter what major you choose? Yes and no. You will have to complete several prerequisite courses in order to apply. That can be done easier with some majors like biology or chemistry. However, a public health degree could also be a great option too. You would just need to take extra courses not part of the degree. Sometimes students come to community colleges to complete these extra classes.

Medical Schools in Washington:

• UW Medical school

  • Review the pre-health information from UW

• WSU Medical School

Here's a checklist for prepping for your interviews.

If you want to practice interviewing or learn more about the interview process, check out the website and set-up an appointment with the Career Action Center.

Check out these Washington State Professional Organizations:

Healthcare Administration/Information Technology:

• AAPC

• WSHIMA

• Washington Healthcare Leaders Association

Public Health:

• Washington State Public Health Association

Pharmacy:

• Washington State Pharmacy Association

• American Pharmacists Association

Physician/Physician Assistant:

• American Medical Association

• Washington Academy of Physician Assistants

• Washington State Medical Association

Nursing:

• Washington State Nurses Association

• Washington State Board of Nursing

Dental/Dental Hygienist:

• Washington State Dental Association

• Washington State Dental Hygienists' Association

You might also be interested in translation services to help you with online translations. Some of these are available online include:

• Google Translate

• Quillbot

Some transfer admissions applications may also require the TOEFL examination for English proficiency.

• TOEFL information

• TOEFL practice tests

• Immigrant Legal Resource Center-DACA Resources

• WAFSA-Financial Aid Resources

The center, located in Hazel Miller Hall room 201, offers:

• Personalized success coaching

• Resources for navigating complex application processes

• Guidance on required coursework and patient care experience

• Support for transferring to professional healthcare programs

  
  

To learn more about the center check out our website above or email us at thtc@edmonds.edu