TACOMA, Wash. — Often considered overworked and underpaid, the healthcare industry continues to suffer through worker shortages.
A 2023 poll showed nearly half of Washington healthcare workers said they are likely to leave the industry in the next few years.
In Tacoma, the school district decided it could help heal the profession's struggles.
Between Mount Tahoma and Stadium High Schools, there are 350 students enrolled in the Health Care Careers Academy.
It starts with a student’s freshman year and by the time they graduate, many are on track for a future in the field.
"You realize that there's people that need help and you could [be] part of that difference," Mount Tahoma High School junior Emily Rojas-Lara said.
Inside Mount Tahoma High School, there is a classroom that looks more like a clinic. Dressed in scrubs, students train in everything from administering needles to CPR skills.
The district believes creating a new crop of healthcare workers starts with experience.
"Online things only get you so far. You've got to have that hands-on piece," Health Care Careers Academy teacher Noel Montgomery said.
Senior Andrew Phok points out the different systems of the human body on a 3D anatomy screen.
"This table is something you'd see in college. Not a high school classroom," Phok said.
The senior will be attending Tacoma Community College next year and has dreams of becoming a radiologist at Tacoma General Hospital one day.
Already through a four-year graduating class in the academy, dozens of Mount Tahoma students have discovered interests in anything from dentistry to imaging science.
"It’s really funny to watch them change what they thought,” Montgomery said. “It was like just doctors and nurses to then something else they didn't realize was part of health care."
"Even if they are exposed to something and go woah I’m not into blood! There are other alternative paths where they can still be involved in health care if that's their passion," assistant director of Career and Technical Education at Tacoma Public Schools Kristie Wolford said.
Wolford said the difference with their program is the vast exposure. The goal of programs like this is to set students up for a career with a livable income.
"We know that half of all students across our state don’t go right into post-secondary education, so we work with colleges to make sure they're connected long before they leave us," Wolford said.
“It's made me go yes this is what I want to do," Rojas-Lara said. "Particularly with women's health or babies."
TPS is taking the same career-minded approach in other fields too. For example, there is a business program and starting in 2026 there will be a maritime academy.