WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will host its second annual Internal Health Care Career Fair during National Hospital Week on Wednesday, May 14.
The fair will be held over two sessions to ensure all shifts have an opportunity to visit -- from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Ardmore Cafeteria. Employees aspiring to grow within the organization will learn more about high-demand clinical professions.
“Given the ever-tightening career market, one of the strategies Wake Forest Baptist uses is to grow its own workforce internally,” said Chantelle Johnson, workforce development specialist. “As a result, all employees interested in growing within the Medical Center are invited to attend the career fair.”
This is one of several strategic initiatives that the Medical Center has put in place to overcome staffing challenges in a tight labor market, she said. In recent years, the Medical Center has hired many individuals who have been laid off from the furniture and textile industries, Johnson added.
“Many of these individuals began here in entry-level jobs and have grown into high-wage, clinical jobs,” she said. “This is a great benefit to the individual because it enables them to learn new skills and increases their earning potential. It also gives these folks a sense of hope and self-fulfillment after being impacted by a lay-off from those industries.”
The fair will focus on health care careers that are in high demand, and projections predict that the demand will far exceed the supply, which is a major concern for most health care organizations. The following careers are being targeted: registered nurses, certified registered nurse anesthetists, operating room nurses, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, medical imaging professionals, neurodiagnostic and medical technologists.
Those employees with serious interest will be invited for an individual career goal-planning session with representatives from Workforce Development following the fair.
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Media Relations Contacts: Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu at (336) 716-4977 or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.