Healthcare education in high schools exploded in 2024.

Becker’s reported on around 19 systems that expanded, launched or improved their educational partnerships in 2024. Some systems rely on weeklong courses or internships, while others are delving into the creation of healthcare tracks that are taken alongside the normal high school curriculum.

Getting high school students interested in healthcare has been top of mind for many leaders as the nation faces workforce deficits. And some strategies for recruiting students are already paying off.

Here are four trends in how systems are bringing more students into healthcare careers.

Healthcare high schools in the works

In January 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $250 million initiative to address workforce deficits in healthcare by funding health systems and public schools in 10 urban and rural communities. The systems and schools will partner to create healthcare curriculum and provide students with opportunities to earn industry certifications and credentials. The inaugural partnerships that joined the program were:

Mass General Brigham (Boston)
Education partner: Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Boston Public Schools)

Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.)
Education partner: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas)
Education partner: Uplift Education

Duke Health (Durham, N.C.)
Education partner: Durham Public Schools

Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston)
Education partner: Aldine Independent School District

HCA Healthcare TriStar, Vanderbilt Health, Ascension and National HealthCare Corp. (Nashville, Tenn.)
Education partner: Nurses Middle College

Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Education partner: Northeast Tennessee Public Schools (six sites)

Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.)
Education partner: New York City Public Schools

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Education partner: Mastery Schools

University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and other state health systems and hospitals (Demopolis, Ala.)
Education partner: State of Alabama (contingent upon state funding)