Baptist opens first hospital-based center for career development in the Mid-South

Baptist Memorial Health Care opened the Baptist Center for Career Development, a first-of-its-kind program, to help its health care professionals reach their career aspirations by creating a clear-cut mobility plan, complete with education and training.

“The Baptist Center for Career Development is a great opportunity for those who want to further their careers or pursue a new career path — with or without additional degrees,” said Sherri Brooks, Ph.D., director of the Baptist Center for Career Development. “Centers for career development are typically offered through universities or career training centers, but our hope is this new program will help extend employee tenure and help Baptist employees achieve their career goals.”

The Baptist Center for Career Development will help address health care workforce shortages by acting as a retention tool for current employees and an incentive for new hires. It will also help develop the organization’s talent pipeline among high school and first-generation college students by showing them career opportunities in health care and career paths beyond traditional clinical roles to include such areas as information technology, marketing, human resources, legal and more.

Baptist aims to offer more career options to help employees who work in rural areas upscale or rescale their careers so they can continue to grow professionally while staying in their local communities, which can help raise local wages and standards of living.

Programs offered through the center will include online courses, virtual and in-person advising sessions, skill-building workshops and training solutions. The curriculum can be completed at nights and/or on weekends, so current employees can gain the training needed without missing work to further their careers.