Tag: Health

Workforce Wednesday: Promising Industries

On Workforce Wednesday, KTVA sat down with State Economist Neil Fried who discussed what industries provided the best opportunities for someone in Alaska hoping to join the workforce.

According to Neil, some of the best industries to aim for when looking for work in the state are healthcare, mining, tourism, fishing and air cargo. These Industries are essential for Alaska, and therefore will always need positions filled.

When asked which industry provided what he believed to be the best opportunity for employment, Neil stated that he believed healthcare was the best bet. Due to people always needing care despite changing times, and how the need for healthcare grows as our population grows, that the business of healthcare was a great place to look for employment.

Neil also believes that younger people looking to enter the field are in a great position to find work in today’s world.

Watch the Workforce Wednesday segment here.

Source: Workforce Wednesday: Promising Industries – KTVA 11 – The Voice of Alaska

Workforce Wednesday: Dental Laboratory Technician

A Dental Laboratory Technician is a career in the medical field which directly impacts a person’s day-to-day life and requires attention to detail.

Sean Siegal, owner of Castable Ceramics, says the goal is to take prescriptions from local dental offices and fill them. This would entail creating crowns, molars, and even dentures. These ceramics are not fake teeth, according to Siegel, they are the real deal.

People can expect the pay to range anywhere from $15 an hour. And could go all the way to $100,000 a year. No prior experience is required to get started in some cases.

Head to the Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium website to learn more about this career.

Watch the Workforce Wednesday Segment here.

Source: Workforce Wednesday: Dental Laboratory Technician – KTVA 11 – The Voice of Alaska

Workforce Wednesday: Alaska Military Youth Academy

The Alaska Military Youth Academy is helping at‑risk kids get the skills they need to succeed and become job-ready.

The academy is a restart program for at‑risk youth: students who have either dropped out of high school or are in jeopardy of not graduating. Cadets live on their campus for 22 weeks, where they can earn their GED. AMYA is an accredited high school that can also teach them important job skills.

The pre‑apprenticeship program is a grant-funded four-week part of the AMYA program that trains youth, in partnership with unions, in four common construction trades. They also can train in the culinary arts and health‑related services. Before they begin formal training, students receive safety and OSHA certifications, along with scaffold building certification required in most trades.

Employability skills are embedded in everything AMYA teaches, so employers know that graduates are equipped with all of the skills necessary to be successful on the job.

Applicants must be between 16 and 18 years old and need a high-school education. To apply, visit AMYA online.

Watch the Workforce Wednesday segment here.

Source: Workforce Wednesday: Alaska Military Youth Academy » KTVA 11

New Nurse Balanced School with Pregnancy and a Newborn


Two days after finding out she was pregnant, newlywed Deanna Pavil got another big surprise — an acceptance letter to the nursing program hosted at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel.

At first, the thought of juggling pregnancy and a newborn baby with a challenging academic program seemed overwhelming. That’s when Pavil called her dad. Charles and Sharon Rodgers had always encouraged their daughter to follow her dreams.

“My dad gave me the push that I needed,” said Pavil, who grew up in Bethel. “He knew this was something I wanted to do, so he wouldn’t let me get off the phone until I said, ‘OK, I can do this.’ I couldn’t have gotten through the nursing program without the help and support of my mom and dad.”

Pavil’s family traveled to Anchorage when she was a high school junior when her grandmother needed open-heart surgery. The hospital staff’s caring actions inspired Pavil to dream of a career in health care. After graduating from Bethel Regional High School, she worked for four years in medical records at Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital. It wasn’t until Pavil started taking classes to become a certified nurse aide that she discovered her calling to be a nurse.

“I enjoyed working in medical records, but knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” said Pavil, who graduated with an associate of applied science degree in nursing in December 2016. “I wanted to do more to help people and make a difference in their lives. The same week I quit my job, I got a phone call about the CNA class.”

Bethel’s certified nursing assistant program is made possible by a community partnership between UAF’s Kuskokwim Campus, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. and Yuut Elitnaurviat, a regional vocational training center. Since 2013, the organizations have worked together to train local residents to fill needed certified nurse aide positions at the YKHC Elder Home. For many students like Pavil, Bethel’s CNA program is a stepping stone to earning an associate of applied science degree in nursing. It’s also a way for them to pursue a degree in health care without having to move away from home.

Read the full article here.

Source: New nurse balanced school with pregnancy and a newborn – UAF News and Information

Hoping to Boost Number of Alaska Native Nurses, UAA Takes High School Students to Camp

Fifteen high school upperclassmen and recent graduates from around Alaska recently participated in Anchorage Nurse Camp at University of Alaska Anchorage.

The program is hosted by RRANN, Recruitment & Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing, a part of UAA’s school of nursing. Students are learning some hands-on skills, such as giving injections, dressing wounds, checking vital signs and doing other simulated treatment on dummies.

Annette Rearden, RRANN coordinator and a nursing professor, said the goal of the camp is to introduce students to the profession and encourage them to consider nursing as a career. Statewide, the program hopes to increase the number of Alaska Native nurses. Now, many places in both rural and urban Alaska rely on traveling nurses, who often work on a 13-week rotation.

“We are in a shortage, and we need culturally competent nurses to provide good care,” Rearden said.

Source: Hoping to boost number of Alaska Native nurses, UAA takes high school students to camp – Alaska Dispatch News