Leave automotive for healthcare?

[Wes Bucey]

This message came in my inbox today. As requested, I am passing it on to those who might be interested.

Please direct your questions to AIAG.

Seeking Unemployed Automotive Quality Professionals
Register now and join us on January 14 at AIAG headquarters in Southfield, Michigan or online via WebEx, to learn about a program to educate unemployed quality professionals in healthcare quality improvement.
AIAG and Oakland University are teaming up to develop a healthcare professional quality training program for experienced and unemployed automotive quality professionals. This four month program covers all elements of healthcare quality with content directed at, but not limited to, process improvement, utilization review, patient safety, regulations, information gathering and analysis. Also included are an internship and a review course for the CPHQ (Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality) exam.
If you are an unemployed, experienced automotive quality professional, please take a moment to register for this call to action.
How to Register:

1. Click here to go to the AIAG Web site
2. Click on the “sign in” button located in the center of the page (note: If you do not have a login and password, you will need to click on the “new account” button.)
3. Once you have signed in, please verify and update your contact information and fill-in your last date of employment then click on the update button. (note: you will not be able to register until you enter a date of last employment)
4. You will be redirected to the Healthcare Quality Professional Training Assessment registration page, now select “event registration” if you will be attending in person or “WebEx registration” if you will be attending online, then complete the check-out process.

P.S. If you know of other unemployed automotive quality professionals that may be interested in this opportunity, please forward this information to them.

I have no information on what the classes will ultimately cost if one should sign up after attending this free seminar.

My guess is that there will be a variety of courses and prices.
The only way to know for sure is to attend in person or via webinar.

If you do attend, we would all appreciate your report on what transpires and whether you think the opportunity is worth pursuing.

We have often raised the topic of changing industries both here in the Cove and over in the ASQ Forums. Folks have reported that getting into healthcare as a quality wonk without healthcare credentials is a particularly difficult task. Perhaps this is a viable solution to that perception.

 

[Jen Kirley]

I wonder if the health care recruiters and HR groups will recognize this as a qualifier? Every advertisement I've ever seen - except one - for a health care QA professional listed RN as a minimum requirement. Since the recruiters don't make those requirements, I wonder how much traction this four-month program will provide.

 

[Marc]

A cautionary tale:

1. My sister's daughter was recently laid off from a quality position with Humana.
2. Typically if one does not have direct experience in the healthcare field, the chances are very slim.

I won't say any training is a bad idea (training is learning no matter what), but jumping from automotive to healthcare is a significant jump, *and* I'm not convinced (considering #1) there are very many jobs out there in quailty in healthcare.

I am adding my comment only as a measure to say "Look before you Leap". Please excuse my pessimism.

 

[Marc]

I wonder if the health care recruiters and HR groups will recognize this as a qualifier? Every advertisement I've ever seen - except one - for a health care QA professional listed RN as a minimum requirement. Since the recruiters don't make those requirements, I wonder how much traction this four-month program will provide.

You posted as I was writing. Yes - That's a significant aspect. My sister's daughter was in the field and laid off, as I mentioned, and my cousin's ex-wife is in the field. My understanding is as I commented above.

 

[bobdoering]

Every advertisement I've ever seen - except one - for a health care QA professional listed RN as a minimum requirement.

I agree with you - although an RN looking for quality training may be a good candidate (although that is not what they were targeting).

 

[Jen Kirley]

I hate to throw cold water on an otherwise fine idea. The source of my concern is not knowing how intimately the various employers partner with colleges and organizations like AIAG to lay out needs, ID potential worth building in automotive QA people, ID gaps and what's needed to fill them and create tailored programs that actually result in matching people to business needs.

My observation is that the businesses seldom do this, and it looks to me that well meaning colleges develop certificate programs that have more certainty in drawing students (and their tuition) than employment outcomes (results). All of these ads for DeVry Institute continue their siren song, whereas my husband has described his IT group's near-wholesale disdain for DeVry's claims. So my queston is, what has Oakland University done to ensure its offering is not doomed to be met with that same diploma mill fate?

 

[Randy]

I have lots of direct experience in healthcare but it isn't accepted for 13485 auditing or Healthcare Quality.

Seems that those folks have a problem with most of my experiece revolving around my having been an emergency room patient on numerous occasions

 

[Stijloor]

I have lots of direct experience in healthcare but it isn't accepted for 13485 auditing or Healthcare Quality.

Seems that those folks have a problem with most of my experience revolving around my having been an emergency room patient on numerous occasions

You didn't behave?

Stijloor.

 

[arios]

Within my area in the US/Mexico border many folks have come from the Automotive sector to the Medical Device Industry, me included.

I have heard from several of those folks that they enjoyed the sector change. I have also seen how the MD sector has improved with a refreshed influence of industrial engineering from the individuals with an automotive background.

In most cases I think the change has been beneficial. Few are the exceptions of those who find the MD sector difficult to understand because of the extensive regulatory requirements that it implies. The rest get used to it and enjoy the learning journey.

With regards to job security, the MD sector definetely seems to be more stable than the Automotive.

 

[Wes Bucey]

I wonder if the health care recruiters and HR groups will recognize this as a qualifier? Every advertisement I've ever seen - except one - for a health care QA professional listed RN as a minimum requirement. Since the recruiters don't make those requirements, I wonder how much traction this four-month program will provide.

I hate to throw cold water on an otherwise fine idea. The source of my concern is not knowing how intimately the various employers partner with colleges and organizations like AIAG to lay out needs, ID potential worth building in automotive QA people, ID gaps and what's needed to fill them and create tailored programs that actually result in matching people to business needs.

My observation is that the businesses seldom do this, and it looks to me that well meaning colleges develop certificate programs that have more certainty in drawing students (and their tuition) than employment outcomes (results). All of these ads for DeVry Institute continue their siren song, whereas my husband has described his IT group's near-wholesale disdain for DeVry's claims. So my queston is, what has Oakland University done to ensure its offering is not doomed to be met with that same diploma mill fate?

Excellent questions!

The intent of the seminar offered by AIAG is to gauge the interest AND concerns of out-of-work AIAG quality folk in signing up for such "re-education."

It seems to me that folks interested in making the transition to that field should attend in person or via web and raise the concerns raised here by Marc and Jennifer. Me - I'm always a glass "half full" kind of guy, ready to have it filled to the top instead of leak into my lap. I have continually harped on the theme that each job candidate owes it to himself to do extensive research BEFORE making an application - call it "Job FEMA!" I see my job here as moderator to continually expose folks to opportunities and techniques for doing that research. Sadly, I can't motivate a candidate to do it - the motivation must come from within.

Oddly, as I was perusing the ASQ job listing pages over the weekend, I came across [what seemed to me] a large number of jobs seeking quality professionals for healthcare.

At least one, which I'm reproducing below with the hiring entity redacted, seemed to me to be open minded about the issue of having "professional" healthcare credentials.

Some of you may be aware I have been a long-time member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and I note a number of contributors to the improvement processes over the years were NOT certificated doctors or nurses. My own background only includes a vastly outdated and nearly obsolete doctorate in one of the Life Sciences, never having held any healthcare position or certification.

Process Improvement Facilitator
Employer Information
About us

[redacted] is a regional healthcare system with a reputation for excellence! Our system includes a 600 bed inpatient hospital, a Women & Babies hospital, as well as numerous outpatient facilities. We employ over 7,000 people and are located in [redacted]

Job Description
In this role, you will coordinate and provide leadership with project teams, department managers, and others in the transformation and improvement of work processes. In addition, you will serve as an internal consultant for the use of quality improvement tools and process design methodologies as well as facilitate and advise improvement teams to achieve system wide process and outcome improvements.

NOTES:
3 openings

Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, or related field or equivalent experience in quality improvement required. CQE or CQUIA preferred. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt preferred.

Previous experience using quality improvement tools required. Demonstrated competencies including analytical, leadership, and coaching skills. Three years experience in facilitating teams through process improvement activities are preferred.