Lansing, Mich., July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interoperability Institute (IOI), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization focused on scaling interoperability for the health information technology (HIT) sector, recently celebrated the graduation of the inaugural cohort of its Health IT Interoperability Apprenticeship Program.
Created to build the future HIT workforce, the apprenticeship program offers hands-on training, mentorship, and skills development opportunities for people who wish to advance within the field. During the 12-month immersive program, apprentices worked 20-29 hours per week and followed a hybrid curriculum that included on-the-job training and related technical instruction.
“The Interoperability Apprenticeship Program was created to equip the next generation health IT workforce with the skills and training they need to succeed professionally and drive the industry’s future forward,” said Brandi Briones, Senior Program Manager of Workforce Development. “Our apprenticeship program opened doors for non-traditional learners, including people coming out of coding boot camps and folks simply wanting a career change, and allowed them to gain unparalleled insight and hands-on experience throughout both their technical training and the time they spent supporting IOI’s development and integration teams. We proudly provide a promising pathway to long and successful careers.”
The program has a national footprint, with the seven apprentices in its inaugural cohort spread across the U.S. By graduation, each student has completed over 70 hours of instructional training on health IT basics, including technical documentation, IT privacy and security, JavaScript beginner programming and introductions to HL7® FHIR®.
Additionally, each of the graduates earned both a QVERA Integration Engine Level 1 certification and an AWS Cloud Practitioner certification that equipped them with a foundational, high-level understanding of the cloud, as well as the skills and knowledge necessary to solve complex interfacing problems, enabling more efficient workflows and tackle any interoperability challenge.
“IOI developed the Health IT Interoperability Apprenticeship Program to address the growing shortage of skilled health IT professionals. The first-of-its-kind program's specialized curriculum prepares apprentices for real-world jobs in the healthcare industry and provides access to the certifications and education that employers are looking for,” said Mary Kratz, Executive Vice President of IOI. “IOI is thrilled to congratulate these graduates and looks forward to celebrating their future successes as they continue to grow and thrive.”
As a condition of the program, IOI is helping the seven apprentices find full-time employment following their official graduation in July 2023.
Organizations looking to build their accreditations and those looking for partners to help train their workforce can contact Brandi Briones here.
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About Interoperability Institute
Interoperability Institute focuses on creating communities and environments that accelerate the adoption of interoperability in ways that result in greater health and more impactful delivery of human services through developing solutions and the next-generation workforce to enable organizations and communities to harness the benefits of interoperability at scale. The Institute is as a limited liability company with the Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) as the sole member. For more information, visit https://interoperabilityinstitute.org/.
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