Health care is a people-centered industry. For Avera, people are our most important resource.
Competent, skilled and well-trained staff who demonstrate care and compassion are vital in the delivery of quality health care. Certain professions are highly needed, including nurses, certified nursing assistants, medical lab techs and scientists, respiratory therapists, surgical techs and imaging professionals.
Avera begins developing workforce at the high school level and earlier, helping students to see that opportunities in health care are wide open. Collaboration with educational institutions and other partners helps to further Avera’s workforce development efforts.
Frontier And Rural Medicine Program
Avera participates in Frontier And Rural Medicine (FARM), a rural track for medical students at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. This is a unique opportunity for a select group of third-year students to complete 11 months of their clinical training in rural communities.
Avera locations in several communities are training sites, including Chamberlain, Milbank, Parkston and Pierre, SD.
“Training in rural communities offers the opportunity to experience increased hands-on education and provides a unique view of the rewards and challenges of practicing in a rural setting,” said Jason Wickersham, MD, family practitioner in Parkston and associate dean of the program.
Avera Nursing Sponsorships
The Avera Nursing Advantage program aims to provide an affordable pathway into nursing for more people in our region. Selected junior and senior nursing students at Mount Marty University in Yankton, SD, receive a generous sponsorship and the ability to work within the Avera Health system after earning their bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Collaboration with the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA, provides nursing students with sponsorship dollars to help pay tuition costs with a three-year work commitment.
Nursing Degree in Three
Avera, Bishop O’Gorman Catholic High School and Mount Marty University have collaborated to create the Nursing Degree in Three program, an opportunity for O’Gorman students to potentially graduate with a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) in three years.
The program has the benefit of generating a pipeline of well-trained nurses with roots in South Dakota. O'Gorman High School students can begin taking specific advanced placement (AP) and dual credit courses through Mount Marty in their junior year, which can count as credit for a BSN degree. If they take all the prescribed classes, they will graduate from Mount Marty with a BSN in three years instead of four.
Simulation Centers
Aberdeen: Northern State University’s Business and Health Innovation Center is home to an Avera-supported simulation center, a core aspect of NSU’s new Bachelor of Science in nursing program. Six simulation suites and an eight-bed skills lab, equipped with tools like realistic patient manikins and virtual reality, help students learn in a hands-on, immersive environment.
Pierre: A new nursing simulation center in Pierre is a collaborative effort between Avera, Lake Area Technical College and Capital City Campus aimed at strengthening the future health care workforce. Supported by an Avera donation, the simulation lab gives students hands-on training using advanced technology in a setting designed to replicate real patient care scenarios. The space includes advanced manikins, modern medical equipment and a 3D visualization tool.
Avera Academy
The Avera Academy allows high school students to earn high school and college credit hours while gaining real-time exposure to careers in health care. It’s a collaboration between Avera, Sioux Falls Public Schools and Southeast Technical College.
Each year, program leaders select 24 high school seniors from the Sioux Falls School District to take part. They spend Friday mornings at Avera facilities where they explore health care careers and see firsthand what health care professionals do. Avera Academy has been expanded to other regions within the Avera system in different versions that fit their needs, for example, day camps.
South Dakota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Program Sponsor
Avera is a sponsor of the South Dakota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Program (SDARL), which takes a cohort of adult learners on an 18-month leadership journey, with a new class seated every two years.
Seminars are held across South Dakota, as well as Washington, D.C., and time spent in a foreign country to examine the global nature of agriculture and the challenges of feeding the world. Participants emerge from the program prepared to lead their communities and the state, and make significant contributions to agriculture nationally and globally.
Marshall Partnership for Nursing Education
In response to increasing demand from prospective students in Marshall, MN, the Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) Nursing Department is developing a four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing in partnership with Avera Health. SMSU currently offers the RN to BSN program as well as the master of science in nursing education. By combining the clinical expertise of Avera with the academic excellence of SMSU, the program will deliver a robust educational experience that meets the highest standards of health care education.
Avera and SMSU are exploring ways our organizations could partner around simulation lab resources, clinical rotations and more.
