Our resilience-focused employees distinguish our organization. Having staff that understand the challenges and strengths of our patients helps build the type of trusting relationships that set us apart. Often, our staff have lived experiences similar to the community we serve. Many were patients of the Clinics as children and became part of our team as adults.
Workforce shortages and challenges in health care are highly publicized, and Marin Community Clinics is not immune to those challenges. In addition to robust recruitment strategies and providing staff development opportunities, we are generating opportunities for new health professionals.
One innovative program addresses a long-time problem; the critical need for more dental assistants. A dental training program affirms our commitment to offer growth opportunities to employees while addressing workforce needs, and interest is growing. The Dental Trainee Internship Program is for anyone, including staff in other positions, looking to launch a dental career and receive paid on-the-job training. The Clinics’ dental team trains students in the essential job functions and responsibilities required to become a Dental Assistant.
“The dentists helped me a lot throughout my training, working with me to teach treatment planning and procedure set-ups. They
– Dental Trainee
explained it in a way I could understand. I felt encouraged the entire time! ”
In the last cohort, five trainees graduated from the program, with one more set to graduate soon. Of these graduates, most are now employed as dental assistants at Marin Community Clinics. We look forward to creating a similar training program for medical assistants.
Increasing Diversity in Behavioral Health
Another program addresses the need for more bilingual and bicultural Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to provide behavioral health services to the Clinics’ diverse patient population. Marin Community Clinics has created an Integrated Behavioral Health
Associates Social Worker Fellowship program. With this program, Masters-level clinicians from local universities who have achieved Associate Social Worker (ASW) certification receive further training that will lead to LCSW credentialing. We have two cohorts of ASW Fellows who are bilingual in English and Spanish and who are highly skilled and motivated. We are proud to support the next generation of Integrated Behavioral Health clinicians and leaders.
Marin Community Clinics’ hiring and training commitment is more than just a strategy to build our workforce – it is a testament to community-driven care. We look forward to creating more career opportunities for
community members and nurturing our
diverse workforce.