Leveraging STEM for Social Change

In-demand healthcare careers give students great opportunities for family-sustaining wages. They also offer the potential to drive impact individually and across communities & the world. We're working with Kaiser Permanente and other partners to ensure all students have access to education pathways that lead to these jobs.

The last two years have shone a bright light on the critical need for robust healthcare infrastructure and equitable access to healthcare. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the country was experiencing a nursing shortage—Washington state included—according to the Washington State Nurses Association. Couple that with the nearly constant demand for healthcare professionals as our community cares for those during COVID-19, and we are looking at a workforce sector that is short-staffed, exhausted, and still in high demand.

According to the Washington STEM Labor Market and Credential Data Dashboard, there are approximately 8,000 in-demand family-wage healthcare jobs and, in our state, there are not enough qualified people to fill these jobs. Not only is there abundant economic opportunity in the healthcare field here in Washington, but there are many different pathways to those family-wage jobs. Two- and four-year degrees, along with certifications and apprenticeships can all lead to family-wage, STEM careers in a variety of healthcare contexts.

Creating Positive Impact Trhough STEM and Healthcare Careers

The economic opportunity in STEM and healthcare is clear, but beyond the numbers, Washington students have the opportunity to pursue the kinds of careers that can truly create impact in their communities, and across the world. Jobs range from medical assistants, phlebotomists, respiratory therapists, and registered nurses, to family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners and more. Many of the jobs can be found through small and large employers across Washington.

Among those top employers, Kaiser Permanente of Washington sees hundreds of job openings a year in these careers. “The healthcare industry relies heavily on a workforce replete with STEM skills. Basic math and science skills are necessary for many positions, and advanced skills in those areas are imperative for those pursuing careers in the medical field,” said Jocelynne McAdory, Vice President of Human Resources for Kaiser Permanente Washington. These kinds of jobs can help students have a direct impact on the communities they are from and can provide the essential services that families across Washington need to live full, healthy lives.

Driving Equity in Healthcare Careers Through Partnership

With so much opportunity available to students in Washington, we must ask, is this opportunity distributed equitably among our students? The data says no. According to the U.S. Department of Education and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, in 2019 there were a total of 16,344 healthcare degrees or certificates awarded in Washington, but of those degrees Hispanic and Black students only received 2,951 of those credentials, compared to the 8,885 credentials earned by their white counterparts. This is where Washington STEM and our partners like Kaiser Permanente come in. Together, we’re helping change our education and healthcare systems so that students of color, rural students, and students from low-income backgrounds can access the jobs we’ve been highlighting. For example, Washington STEM has been partnering with Kaiser Permanente in the development of their POC Health Careers Ecosystems – a program specifically meant to create a pipeline for students of color working on advanced medical degrees to access leadership positions in the healthcare space.

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