First Allied Health Event Honors Grads
2019 Medical Laboratory Technology graduates pose after they receive their white coats and professional pin. Graduates then took the ASCLS Oath to the Profession. Pictured from left are CSM Associate Professor Tiffany Gill, Jenna Campbell, Loubna Depew, and Lee Adrian Tengco.
Allied Health students at the College of Southern Maryland were honored at an inaugural recognition ceremony applauding their newly earned degrees and certificates during the college’s 2019 Spring Commencement in May.
Eleven students completed programs of study in the fields of Health Information Management (HIM), Pharmacy Technician, and Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT).
“It is really important for our students, and the public, to recognize the critical work and role that allied health professionals have in the overall care of a patient,” said CSM MLT Program Coordinator and Associate Professor Tiffany Gill. “Too often, people only consider doctors and nurses when it comes to their care – but there are so many other wonderful, talented experts involved who are ensuring a proper diagnosis and executing the appropriate treatment. Many patients never even realize all the many members of their health care team.”
Awareness, along with a growing shortage of qualified professionals in the fields of health care, often worries professors involved in teaching tomorrow’s health care providers, Ms. Gill said.
A competitive analysis of the future of health care staffing conducted by Credence Research showed that globally, the health care staffing services market will undergo steady growth as the shortage of health professionals meets an aging population and all the demands that come along with them.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Health Workforce Alliance, 83 countries fall short of acceptable criteria of 22.8 skilled health care personnel per 1,000 population,” according to the analysis. “Moreover, the WHO states that expected global need-based shortage of skilled health care providers stood at a 17.4 million in 2013. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50 percent of health care jobs were vacant in 2016, an increase from 30 percent in 2015.”
Ms. Gill said that is why CSM set aside time May 14, three days before the May 17 spring graduation ceremony, to celebrate its allied health students.
“We want them to realize how very important they are – as are the professions they are all about to enter,” she said.
2019 Pharmacy Technician graduates pose after they have received their professional pin. Graduates then took the ASHP Pharmacy Technician Oath to the Profession. Pictured from left are CSM Assistant Professor Sharon Baker, Stephanie Walzel, Samantha Thomsen, and Kelly Burroughs.
In December 2018, CSM established another new tradition when it held its first recognition and pinning ceremony for students completing the Continuing Education and Workforce Development Healthcare program. The event celebrated students who earned certifications to become clinical medical assistants, geriatric nursing assistants, nursing assistants, dental assistants, electrocardiogram technicians, or phlebotomy technicians.
“There is no better time to be in health care,” said CSM Vice President of Continuing Education and Workforce Development Dr. Dan Mosser, during the December event. “The US will need to hire 2.3 million new health care workers by 2025 in order to adequately take care of its aging population, and according to research by global health care staffing consultancy Mercer, a persistent shortage of skilled health care workers translates into hundreds of thousands of positions that remain unfilled. And the industry needs you now, more than ever.”
The following students were recognized at the May 14 Allied Health event:
Health Information Management
Jeanette Borries of Lexington Park
Abiodun Bowen of Waldorf
Jessica Hartmann of Lusby
Katherine Mayers of Lusby
Kathy Watson of Lexington Park
Medical Laboratory Technology
Jenna Campbell of Lusby
Loubna Depew of Faulkner
Lee Adrian Tengco of Waldorf
CSM MLT Program Coordinator and Associate Professor Tiffany Gill presents the Outstanding Medical Laboratory Technology Graduate Award to recipient Lee Adrian Tengco of Waldorf.
Kelly Burroughs of Hollywood
Stephanie Thomsen of Prince Frederick
Samantha Walzel of Waldorf
About CSM’s Health Guided Pathway
Encompassing credit degree programs like Health Information Management, Nursing, Massage Therapy, EMS, Medical Laboratory Technology, Personal or Athletic Training, Pharmacy Technician and more, and continuing education workforce training certificates in a variety of specialties like Phlebotomy, CNA/GNA, and ECG/EKG Technicians, the Health Pathway at CSM is a broad swath of medical training for a number of different careers.
For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit its Leader member page.
