New Division of Professional Studies features online courses to help students acquire new capabilities and enhance existing skills in numerous healthcare disciplines.
Regis College announced today the launch of ten microcredentialing programs to directly address workforce and labor shortages throughout New England’s healthcare industry. The online certificate programs are offered through the newly established Division of Professional Studies at Regis and provide students with the capabilities and skills required to fill in-demand job vacancies across the region’s hospitals and healthcare systems.
“For nearly 100 years, Regis College has been proud to meet the needs of the times by offering innovative learning opportunities to traditional undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students as well as those who began a degree program, but did not finish,” said Regis College President Antoinette Hays, PhD, RN. “The new Division of Professional Studies reinforces our commitment to providing pathways for upward social mobility and addressing critical workforce development needs in New England and beyond.”
The United States Bureau for Labor Statistics (BLS), estimates that over 176,000 workers have left the healthcare industry since the COVID-19 pandemic began in February 2020. The American College of Healthcare Executives reported in February 2022 that labor and workforce shortages are now hospital CEOs’ number one concern. In New England, the Massachusetts Heath and Hospital Association released a report in October 2022 that stated, “The Massachusetts healthcare system is in crisis” due to the fact that “an estimated 19,000 acute care hospital positions are unfilled.”
These new Regis programs intend to help alleviate this crisis by directly partnering with New England healthcare providers on initiatives that drive talent acquisition, skills growth, and employee retention and upward mobility.
“The increasing need for individuals qualified to provide healthcare to those who are ill continues to challenge our healthcare system as the baby boomer generation continues to age, requiring advanced levels of care," said interventional cardiologist, medical director of international health, and a senior member of the executive health team at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Wael Al-Husami, MD, FACC, FACP. "Regis College is renowned for providing an exemplary education, especially in the nursing and health sciences fields, forming students who are prepared to serve as skilled and compassionate healthcare practitioners. This new Division of Professional Studies will make impactful contributions to addressing the severe workforce shortages in the healthcare industry throughout Massachusetts and the country.”
Regis College’s new certificate programs are open for enrollment now and offer training in ten disciplines in high demand by the region’s healthcare providers:
- EKG Technician
- Healthcare Administration Professional
- Healthcare IT Technician
- Health Unit Coordinator
- Medical Assistant
- Patient Care Technician
- Pharmacy Technician Professional
- Phlebotomy Technician
- Physical Therapy Aide and Administration Specialist
- Sterile Processing Technician
