Glennie Burwell, 39, of Baltimore, started working at St. Agnes Hospital in 1988 as a patient escort responsible for guiding patients through the wide hospital hallways for tests, surgeries and otherprocedures.
Today, she works as an operating room processor, analyzing specimens and processing paperwork.
Burwell is one of about 25 employees who have graduated from the School at Work program, an adult education program designed to help entry-level health care workers advance in their careers.
“I love my new position,” Burwell said. “It meant the world to me. I needed that push because I got complacent being an escort.”
Burwell said support from her mother and sister, who also work at St. Agnes, and some cheerleading from Joan Tisdale, who supervises the School at Work program, helped her finish her studies, including some tough math classes.
Burwell will start summer courses this year at Catonsville Community College to become a registered nurse. She would like to work in Shock Trauma one day.
School at Work?s curriculum was designed by staff and professors at Anne Arundel Community College and marketed by Kentucky-based Catalyst Learning.
In the Baltimore region, eight health care systems and retirement communities offer School at Work classes, including Johns Hopkins Health System, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Erickson Retirement Communities.
Employers pay for workers to attend classes at the hospital using materials and satellite broadcasts from Catalyst Learning. Students take basic courses to improve their math, reading and computer skills.
Laura Weidner, executive director of the Center for Workforce Solutions at Anne Arundel Community College, said the college is now working to find ways to help more School at Work graduates continue their education. She said the curriculum model could also be exported to other industries, including transportation.
