A national scan highlights gaps in allied health pathways, and the work needed to make local training possible.
107 health care degree apprenticeship programs across 15 occupations, offered by 93 colleges and universities in 29 states. That is the landscape described in New America's August 2026 report, with programs concentrated in nursing and surgical technology.
For a healthcare leader facing recurring allied health vacancies, the national findings raise a practical possibility: helping someone prepare for a needed role while continuing to earn.
The national total also leaves local access unclear. A program somewhere in the country does not necessarily give an employee a route they can use.
The gaps matter more than the national total
Researchers Ivy Love and Braden Goetz examined health care degree apprenticeships through internet and directory searches, supplemented by interviews. Their additional searches took place in March and April 2026, building on research from the previous summer.
The inventory includes radiography and respiratory therapy, but opportunities are uneven across occupations. In their discussion of barriers, the researchers report finding no current or developing degree apprenticeships for occupational therapy assistants or physical therapy assistants.
New America connects that gap to the timing of clinical education. The report describes OTA fieldwork as typically scheduled after academic coursework and a required clinical block at the end of PTA programs. That sequencing makes it harder to integrate paid work and classroom learning throughout a degree when a substantial part of the clinical experience comes at the finish.
That is a finding about the programs the researchers identified. It does not tell us how many apprentices are enrolled, how many places are available, or whether a hospital can access the training it needs.
The staffing pressure is visible in other research. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists' 2025 survey reported a 15.6% radiography vacancy rate. That was an improvement from 18.1% in 2023, but still a substantial share of positions unfilled. The estimate comes from responding departments across the country, rather than a census of all imaging positions.
For an individual hospital, the practical concern is the service behind the vacancy. A missing imaging professional or surgical technologist can become a coverage problem that returns every time the schedule is built. A larger national training inventory matters when it gives that hospital and prospective learners a workable option.
A paid pathway still has to prepare someone for the job
In a degree apprenticeship, a learner is employed and paid as a Registered Apprentice while completing a college degree. Coursework and structured workplace learning are connected within the program. That arrangement can make education more accessible to someone who cannot stop earning a paycheck.
The arrangement still has to work around the demands of learning a clinical role.
At Western Technical College in Wisconsin, surgical technologist apprentices complete their associate degree while remaining employed by a participating employer. The two-year apprenticeship includes 1,134 hours of paid related instruction. Students need admission to the degree program and an approved employer apprenticeship contract before entering the apprenticeship.
The degree program retains its academic and clinical requirements, with many core courses taught in person in La Crosse. Paid learning addresses an income barrier. Travel, class schedules, and supervised practice still have to fit into the employee's life and the hospital's staffing plan.
Bay College's surgical technology pathway shows another way to connect the pieces. Through a college consortium, hospital-employed apprentices can pursue an Associate in Applied Science degree with their employer's support. The college describes a hosting route for hospitals in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, alongside competitive admission and limited capacity.
These examples make the local pathway more concrete. A college can provide the academic route, and a hospital can provide employment and supervised learning. Someone still needs to coordinate how those commitments fit together.
Consider an employee who wants to move into surgical technology. Knowing the hospital, its colleagues, and its routines may give that person a useful starting point. Preparing for the new role brings additional responsibilities and skills. The pathway needs to give them time to learn, supervision while they practice, and a clear record of the competencies they have demonstrated.
A route that keeps someone earning while they train can make that transition possible. Its value also depends on the quality of the preparation and the support available along the way. The qualification needs to fit the role, whether the appropriate pathway leads to a degree or another credential.
What healthcare employers should expect from growing their own
A hospital can reasonably want more control over its future workforce. Developing current employees may create an option alongside external recruiting, particularly when those employees cannot access a traditional full-time education route.
Keeping people after training deserves attention too. In the Florida Hospital Association's 2025 workforce survey, employees with less than one year of tenure accounted for 39.3% of reported surgical-technologist departures. Those are departures reported by participating hospitals, not the percentage of all new hires who left. The finding does not establish why they left or whether they stayed in the profession.
It does give leaders a reason to think beyond the next credential. A training plan needs to connect with the job someone will enter, the supervision they will receive, and the opportunities they will have to continue developing. Completing a program and building a career at the hospital are related goals, each needing attention.
For healthcare employers, this is the more useful implication of New America's scan. There is room to expand pathways into allied health careers. Making those pathways valuable means looking closely at whether people can enter them, complete the required preparation, and progress into the work the employer needs them to do. The scan does not establish that apprenticeship alone produces better retention or solves a staffing shortage.
A local program's value reaches beyond filling a vacancy. The hospital needs evidence that learners are becoming ready for the role, alongside support that helps them build a career in it.
At Craft, we help healthcare employers connect workforce pathway design with evidence of learner progress. Our services support program design and implementation, while Craft Connect records on-the-job hours, mentor reviews, and competency progress. Schedule a conversation with Craft about the support your workforce pathway needs.
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