How do you foster professional development and career growth for community health workers?

Community health workers (CHWs) are vital members of the healthcare team, providing outreach, education, advocacy, and support to underserved populations. They often face challenges such as low wages, high turnover, limited recognition, and lack of career advancement opportunities. How can you foster professional development and career growth for CHWs in your organization? Here are some strategies to consider:

1 Assess their needs and interests

The first step to developing CHWs is to understand their current skills, knowledge, gaps, and goals. You can conduct a needs assessment survey, interview, or focus group to gather their feedback and input. This will help you identify their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. You can also use this information to create individualized learning plans and career paths for each CHW.

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Vimla Moodley

Public Health Strategist | Champion for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
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Regular training for CHWs can broaden the skills set and experience in health care. This can lead to opportunities for further education and access to relevant certification, qualifications and membership to professional associations

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2 Provide ongoing training and mentoring

CHWs need continuous training and mentoring to enhance their competencies, confidence, and performance. You can offer various types of training, such as workshops, webinars, online courses, or certifications, to cover topics such as health promotion, disease prevention, communication, cultural competency, ethics, and leadership. You can also pair CHWs with mentors, such as experienced CHWs, nurses, or managers, who can provide guidance, feedback, and support. Mentoring can also facilitate networking and collaboration among CHWs and other healthcare professionals.

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3 Recognize and reward their achievements

CHWs deserve recognition and reward for their contributions and achievements. You can show your appreciation and respect by acknowledging their efforts, celebrating their successes, and providing constructive feedback. You can also offer tangible rewards, such as bonuses, raises, promotions, or certificates, to incentivize and motivate them. Additionally, you can advocate for their professional recognition and representation in your organization and the healthcare system, such as by creating a CHW council, committee, or network.

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Brianna Zink

Strategic Operations Leader | Driving Scalable Business Growth | Expertise in Cross-Functional Leadership & SaaS Strategy
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A recent trend I have been hearing is that hospitals and health systems are looking to extend their reward or recognition programs to community health workers associated with their organization. Traditionally, it seems that these programs have been aimed at bedside nurses at the hospital, but extending these programs to be more inclusive of other nurses in the community can provide a greater sense of connection and recognition.

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4 Create opportunities for advancement and leadership

CHWs often have limited opportunities for advancement and leadership within their roles and organizations. You can create opportunities for them to grow and lead by involving them in decision-making, planning, and evaluation processes. You can also encourage them to take on new responsibilities, projects, or roles that align with their interests and goals. For example, you can assign them as team leaders, trainers, coordinators, or advocates for CHWs and the communities they serve.

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5 Support their well-being and resilience

CHWs face many stressors and challenges in their work, such as heavy workloads, emotional demands, burnout, and vicarious trauma. You can support their well-being and resilience by providing them with adequate resources, supervision, and support. You can also promote a healthy and positive work environment, where CHWs feel valued, respected, and empowered. Moreover, you can facilitate peer support and self-care activities, such as debriefing sessions, wellness workshops, or social events, to help them cope and thrive.

Fostering professional development and career growth for CHWs is not only beneficial for them, but also for your organization and the communities they serve. By investing in their learning, recognition, advancement, and well-being, you can enhance their satisfaction, retention, and impact. You can also build a strong and sustainable CHW workforce that can improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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AJ Rubin-DeSimone, MPA-IO, CPHRM

Healthcare Compliance, Risk, Regulatory, and Operations professional with over 10 years of management experience.
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One thing that helped me and in turn my future staff was being as flexible as possible with employee scheduling, especially when professional development opportunities involve coursework. We often adhere to the familiar predictability of shift work, but giving a CHW the opportunity to take a 2pm class may have a profound impact on their ability to manage the extra work.

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How do you foster professional development and career growth for community health workers?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 Assess their needs and interests

2 Provide ongoing training and mentoring

3 Recognize and reward their achievements

4 Create opportunities for advancement and leadership

5 Support their well-being and resilience

6 Here’s what else to consider

Healthcare Management

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How do you foster professional development and career growth for community health workers?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess their needs and interests

2 Provide ongoing training and mentoring

3 Recognize and reward their achievements

4 Create opportunities for advancement and leadership

5 Support their well-being and resilience

6 Here’s what else to consider

Healthcare Management

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