Perspective: Teacher burnout

Tom Rametta

President – Ultimate Medical Academy

There are unique differences and challenges in healthcare accounting that vary depending on whether you’re accounting for a local pharmacy, a doctor’s office, a small clinic or a hospital. There is specific terminology and different methods that apply in different environments. We are training our students to understand and work across those areas. This is certainly our most mathematical program, and it is preparing students for opportunities in an important administrative element of healthcare. Among our most popular programs is our Pharmacy Technician program. There is a high demand for pharmacy technicians in the United States, and we have a great program. Another one is medical billing and coding.

important for universities to demonstrate a tangible return on students’ investments. And even though the pandemic has complicated a lot of higher education issues, some have been simplified, including physical access to education. Students now can have their pick of universities without being constrained by geography. As student debt balloons, students are also evaluating the real need for a degree. According to McKinsey, student debt levels in many cases are outpacing the value of a college education. For students attending an MBA course, networking is the major attraction, which means many are rethinking the value of a virtual degree.

Workforce preparation The main goal of any university or higher education institution is to match the skills of its graduates with the new demands of the job market in the region. Although COVID complicated matters, Tampa’s institutions remained nimble, aiming to quickly reduce unemployment rates through swift retraining and reevaluation of current curriculums. And employment rates are gradually ticking up month on month. In March, the number of people employed was up 0.3% compared to February at 1.4 million in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. This was almost on par with March 2019, although it was down 2% on March 2020.

Several institutions are working across the state to try to get Floridians back to work. St. Petersburg College, for example, is trying to determine a new curriculum that works for everyone, aided by major employers Powertown Line Construction and Duke Energy. Graduates of the college have an average salary of $51,000.

As the pandemic revealed, some of the most important jobs in the economy do not require a college education, but rather a trade school. The top trade school in Florida is the Ultimate Medical Academy in Clearwater, which provides courses in medical administrative careers and promises a starting salary of $20,000. The Concorde Career Institute in Tampa is a for-profit college specializing in medical assisting, dental assisting and pharmacy technician trades. The institution provides an accelerated program with hands-on lab time. And the Florida Career College provides a range of training from medical assistant to HVAC and refrigeration engineering. ( )

Perspective: Teacher burnout

Glen Cornwall

Dean – Galen College of Nursing During the initial onset of COVID-19, it took a while for the faculty to adapt, as expected. But Galen College provided the resources they needed. We did that by reaching out to faculty and getting their first-hand input on the possible ways that their teaching experience could be made easier and more tolerable. Thanks to this direct feedback, we are providing those resources, including tablets that can use a digital whiteboard function through Zoom.