From Classroom to Employment: Empowering New Graduates for Transition To Hire

Abstract:
Transitioning the degree level from the bachelor’s to the master’s degree has prompted educators to make numerous curricular changes with the intention of creating stronger professionals who are career-ready. Some curricular advancements include pedagogical strategies to improve clinical skills and soft skill through the use of standardized patients, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE's), tracking patient encounters and incorporating clinical immersions into clinical education. With that said, many employers still prefer one to three years of experience when hiring and many in the profession, including new graduates, feel the need to pursue low-paying internships to gain experience before becoming employed full time. Continued discussion among educators is necessary to further explore ways to assist students in effectively expressing their acquired skills to employers, facilitating better communication of advancements in entry-level education, particularly in articulating curriculum enhancements such as administrative skills and proficiency in executing quality soft skills. This facilitated discussion will prompt dialogue to help faculty identify advancements in their curriculum that highlight employer concerns for new graduates and provide ideas to identify solutions to help new professionals articulate educational advancements unique to their programs to better position themselves for employment success. Ongoing discussions will focus on defining, exploring and connecting advancements in AT education with how programs prepare students for employment and career transitions as they move from education to practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common skill gaps in early professionals upon transition to practice.
• Evaluate your program’s advancements to prepare students for professional readiness.  
• Identify how educators can help their students better articulate their master’s level education when transitioning to the workforce.

Track: Program Administration
Format: Facilitated Discussion

This Session is Not Eligible for CEUs.