DES MOINES, IOWA (May 15, 2025) — The Iowa Hospital Association, with the Iowa Department of Education, hosted Health Sciences Career Day in Iowa on Wednesday, May 15. Held during National Hospital Week, the live, virtual event focused on building the workforce of the future by making young Iowans aware of six high-demand health care occupations across the state: physician, nurse, radiology technologist, respiratory therapist, lab technologist, and behavioral health-care.
“Iowa’s hospital and health system leaders rank the workforce pipeline as one of their top issues,” said Chris Mitchell, IHA president and chief executive officer. “To develop the workforce pipeline, we need to reach and recruit tomorrow’s health-care professionals where they are today — in our schools. Health Sciences Career Day is an opportunity to introduce young Iowans to the possibility of health-care careers and help them discover the occupations and educational pathways of interest to them.”
The program was livestreamed to approximately 1,000 students at sixty Iowa middle and high schools. The career segments featured engaging video content that invited students into Iowa hospitals to experience health-care professionals at work. Students learned about the various aspects of each job, from patient-care responsibilities to education and training requirements. Live panel discussions provided even more in-depth information about educational pathways and career tracks, and panelists answered questions from students.
The event featured six Iowa hospitals and health systems:
- WinnMed (Decorah) — physician
- UnityPoint Health (statewide health system) — nursing
- MercyOne (statewide health system) — radiology technologist
- Clarinda Regional Health Center (Clarinda) — respiratory therapist
- Pella Regional Health Center (Pella) — lab technologist
- Mary Greeley Medical Center (Ames) — behavioral health-care
IHA also recently launched the Iowa Health Education Portal (IowaHealthEdPortal.org), a website that helps aspiring nurses explore and compare over thirty nursing-education programs available in Iowa.
Additionally, the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation, a subsidiary of IHA, annually awards health-care career scholarships to students enrolled in eligible accredited programs leading to licensure, certification, or a degree.
Scholarship recipients must commit to working one year in an Iowa hospital for each year they are awarded a scholarship.
The scholarship application period begins annually on or around November 1.
IHA serves 123 hospitals and health systems across Iowa through advocacy, education, and information services.
