Adventist Health System introduces tool to help veterans find jobs in health care

In addition to adjusting to everyday civilian life, many veterans have trouble finding their place in the civilian labor force following their service to our country. A new tool implemented by Adventist Health System (AHS) is making it easier for former service members to transition into careers in the health care field.

'As we strive to attract, retain and engage top talent to join AHS, we are excited to offer this new tool that makes it easier than ever for the brave men and women who have served our country to bring their skills and talents to our organization,' said Nikki Kemp, director of talent strategy and workforce planning.

Adventist Health System's new online military translator tool allows job-seekers to search for open positions across the organization's vast network of nearly 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites, using their own military job code to find open positions that match their skills and qualifications. To help match candidates to positions, the tool factors in the transferable skills, hard skills and soft skills related to their military role, making it easier for veterans to join the workforce and begin their career at AHS.

Annette Pagan who works at the AHS corporate campus said, 'My husband is a former Ranger and we would normally spend hours researching a company's careers page to find relevant positions after he left the military. This tool does all of that work in about five seconds.'

The tool's inception began as a grassroots effort in Adventist Information Technology (AIT), the organization's IT department, from a group of military veterans who gather occasionally to connect over their shared experiences and provide mutual support. Understanding how challenging it can be to transition into the workforce, they wanted to make it easier for veterans to feel connected to the mission and values at AHS.

'Being in the Air Force definitely strengthened my sense of team and family, as my work colleagues often filled both roles,' said Michelle Andrievk, a regional clinical informatics manager at AIT. 'I frequently leverage skills from my Air Force days to extend the healing ministry of Christ even today.'