“Joining this program was a no-brainer for me.”

Those are the words of recent Bowdoin College graduate Thomas Trundy, who joined the inaugural cohort of the Roux Institute’s Post-Baccalaureate, Pre-Clinical Healthcare Gap Year Program, a unique, non-degree program that places recent college grads in entry-level healthcare positions in Maine.

The program, which was created in partnership with Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences, and is fueled by an industry partnerships grant from the Maine Department of Labor, is a way to incentivize recent college graduates to explore their interests in the healthcare industry, while simultaneously helping to fill major gaps in Maine’s workforce.

Jesse Billingham, program manager at the Roux Institute, says the program helps connect participants directly with the types of jobs that interest them. “Through the Pre-Clinical Gap Year Program, we’re putting people directly in touch with healthcare recruiters, where they can have a conversation about how their specific interests can align with open roles.”

The program comes at a particularly pressing time in Maine’s healthcare industry. As the most rural state in the country, and home to the country’s oldest population, Maine is facing a catastrophic workforce shortage that’s having severe impacts on the care Mainers are receiving. This shortage is evidenced on the job boards of all Maine’s healthcare providers.

Kathy Simmonds, a clinical professor and associate director of health programs at the Roux Institute, emphasizes the vast need for healthcare workers in Maine. “There are current and projected shortages in nursing, medicine, and every other health care provider field, including behavioral health, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, and so on,” she says.

“Through conversations with healthcare partners around the state, we found that we didn’t need more training programs. There are plenty of good training programs out there,” says Billingham. “What Maine needs is people.”

While the Pre-Clinical Health Gap Year Program won’t immediately fill these needs, it’s a start. The inaugural cohort includes 23 participants, and as the Roux Institute continues to create partnerships with clinics across Maine, they expect that number to greatly increase.

“Our intention is to grow our network of healthcare providers throughout the state, especially in rural areas,” Billingham says. Rural areas of Maine are particularly impacted by workforce shortages. A recent article in the Maine Monitor described patients in rural Maine waiting months before getting proper diagnoses and care due to a severe lack of resources.

To attract new and young workers to Maine, as well as retain those who are already here, the Pre-Clinical Health Gap Year Program offers a $500 monthly housing stipend as well as tailored career development services and social events held through the Roux Institute. “For those planning on applying to graduate school after the program, we can help with that process by assisting with the creation of personal statements, resumés etc.,” says Billingham. “The big focus is to attract and keep workers here in Maine.”

Jeni Nganzobo, a graduate of the University of Maine at Machias with a bachelor’s in biology, arrived in Maine from South Africa in December of 2019. The Pre-Clinical Gap Year Program felt like the perfect way to spend her year as she prepares to take the MCAT. Currently working as a patient service representative at Eastern Maine Medical Center, Nganzobo hopes to stay in Maine. “Working in Maine helps me gain experience in rural settings,” she says. “If I left to study in another state, Maine would be the first state I would come back to do my residency in.”