Mar. 3—With the demand for health care workers not slowing down anytime soon, Ivy Tech’s new dean of health science has a clear goal: Let people know about local opportunities available to students.

That will be the focus of next week’s Tuesday @ the Tech event at Ivy Tech Kokomo.

Tami Shepard, dean for the school of health sciences, will be on hand, along with other faculty from the department, to talk with prospective students about health care careers.

Shepard started as health sciences dean in January after spending 19 years at the Marion Ivy Tech campus as an instructor and administrator. She is originally from Howard County.

“I wanted to come back to Kokomo,” Shepard said. “I wanted to come home.”

Shepard oversees a department where students in each program are almost guaranteed to have job offers before completing their schooling.

For example, students in a certified nursing assistant (CNA) course last fall all had job offers prior to taking their state certification exam.

It speaks to the staffing demands in the health care profession, and why Shepard’s main goal is to bring awareness to the opportunities available at Ivy Tech.

“They’re just not always aware they are here in our backyard,” she said.

Prospective students and their families are probably already aware of the nursing program at the community college, but not every student entering the health care field wants to be a nurse, nor do they want to work directly with patients.

“There are other parts of health care that don’t have those aspects,” Shepard said.

A medical assistant is one such example. These are the people who work in the office setting of a hospital or health care facility. The scope of a medical assistant varies, but they often deal with insurance, coding and other administrative tasks.

And almost every health care facility needs a medical assistant, usually more.

Ivy Tech Kokomo offers a paramedic program that features an ambulance simulator.

“We have a huge need in paramedics in this area,” Shepard said.

The dental assisting program is one of the department’s offerings that features on-the-job learning, basically allowing students to try it out before completing the program. Again, most dental assistant students receive offers.

“Where else do you get to try the job out beforehand?” Shepard said. “They see what it’s actually going to be like for them.”

Those, along with other programs — such as surgical technician, health care specialist and qualified medication aide — will all be discussed Tuesday.

Prospective students can also learn about what certification and degree programs are available, along with how an employer might cover their cost of tuition.

Shepard said she wants to strengthen relations with health care facilities in the area, as well as build pathways that allow for students to easily transition from Ivy Tech into the career field of their choice.

“It means I’m funneling them into a (good) job, (that) is a pretty sweet gig,” she said.

Tuesday’s event is from 9 a.m. to noon in the Health Professions Center and will include a tour of facilities and opportunities to experience simulations in state-of-the-art classrooms. Those who attend will also be able to observe an ongoing class.

For more information about how to register, go to ivytech.edu/kokomo or email Kokomo-enrollment@ivytech.edu. Walk-ins are welcome.

The next eight-week period at Ivy Tech starts March 23.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.