Recent graduates celebrate their completion of the Penn Medicine Pathways Emerging Careers Program.
Congratulations to the inaugural group of graduates of the Penn Medicine Pathways Emerging Careers Program!
The program, created by Dwaine B. Duckett, Penn Medicine’s senior vice president of Human Resources, and Susan C. Taylor, MD, a professor and vice chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Dermatology, recruits Philadelphia school district high school graduates into roles such as patient service associates, transport associates, security officers, and materials management. In partnership with JEVS (Jewish Employment and Vocational Services) and the University of Pennsylvania Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the program sets the participants up for success with job-readiness classes in addition to standard UPHS training.
“Concentrating on untapped talent from economically challenged communities throughout Philadelphia positions us to impact a variety of social justice and economic mobility issues by providing jobs.”
Pathways participant Taeyana White, a transport associate at Pennsylvania Hospital, found the program “very interesting and educational, it helped me gain knowledge of the different departments” until she found her niche in her new job: “I like that I can make people’s day while transporting them.”
Amber DeLoatch, a Pathways graduate who now works as a clinical support representative at Penn Medicine Urgent Care and hopes to pursue nursing, also applauds the program’s intangibles: “It helped me learn that I have people who want to see me succeed. I know that I have a huge support system behind me due to Pathways.”
Read more about the Pathway Emerging Careers Program in the Penn Medicine News Blog, at https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog.