9th Annual Conference

In the last 10 years, Casa de Salud has developed and refined a Health Apprenticeship program that immerses young students of color in a community based integrative healthcare center and empowers them with leadership skills, medical assistant skills, and an understanding of cultural humility, anti-racism, and generational trauma. Health apprentices serve for a year with the organization, generally 8-14 hours a week. Many go on to become the future healthcare workforce of New Mexico and beyond, successfully shifting the workforce retention problems in the state, and successfully shifting the privilege problem in medicine -- where up to 25% of entering medical school classes made up of students with a family member who is a physician.

Casa de Salud has a successful health apprentice fellowship program and has graduated over 200 alumni. The organization is building out an alumni network and learning about the multiplier effect of this program.

We have a responsibility to diversify and transform the culture of medicine, and this starts with the pipelines and experiences we build for our youth. Former health apprentices and staff at Casa de Salud will share their experiences in building the program or as health apprentices, and will share tools for healthcare providers to develop similar programs in their communities.

My co-presenters and I are all inspiring women who are passionate about transforming the culture of healthcare and about transforming the healthcare workforce. I have 20 years of experience passionately speaking about healthcare transformation in the US, and my co-presenters have spoken at various outlets in New Mexico about their lived experiences with racism, health apprenticeship, and leadership development.

health apprentices, apprenticeship, fellowship, community based healthcare, cultural humility, anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, healthcare workforce, youth.

Presentation/Lecture with Discussion: present information and engage the learners in discussion about the material.

This session is appropriate for all audiences and skill levels