Healthcare professionals applying for roles at Arkansas Children's might notice changes in its job descriptions.
After a review of its job listings, the Little Rock, Ark.-based health system decided to lower degree requirements by a level, except for roles with medical degree or licensure requirements, Chief People Officer Crystal Kohanke told Becker's.
For example, director roles that previously required master's degrees will now require bachelor's degrees as a baseline for consideration.
"We've done that across the board for all of our jobs at all levels, so really trying to create pathways for people that may not have had those opportunities before," Ms. Kohanke said.
Starting about two years ago, leaders did a deep dive into their job descriptions and asked why a certain role requires five years of experience, for example. "Is that experience required simply because it's always been that way?" Ms. Kohanke said in reference to the discussions.
The system is in the process of finalizing and implementing the changes, Ms. Kohanke said.
According to Indeed Hiring Lab economic research published in February, U.S. job postings on Indeed that did not mention a degree requirement rose to 52% in January, up from 48% in 2019.
The trend of professionals without degrees entering healthcare roles has been building. In February, U.S. News World & Report ranked the best healthcare roles that do not require a degree, including hearing aid specialist, massage therapist and pharmacy technician.
Arkansas Children's goal is to ensure that the system is not creating barriers for those who may not have traditional healthcare backgrounds or might not have previously thought about entering the workforce. The system's previous requirements kept it from "being able to tap into talent in a different way," she said.
Diversity is something the health system is measuring to understand how well it is representing their community, Ms. Kohanke said. In removing degree barriers, Arkansas Children's hopes to develop a workforce that meets its goal of representing patients as well as possible.
"We want our patients and families to come in and see people like them and talk to people that are like them," Ms. Kohanke said. "It's more than just the workforce and trying to create opportunities for people from a job standpoint, but it's how we care for our patients, and how our patients feel when they come in."