Jessica O. was working at as a Program Manager at Kaiser Permanente, when she heard they were embarking upon a new partnership with Futuro Health. The goal was to foster and develop important workforce skills, particularly in the field of innovation and technology in healthcare—which happened to be Jessica’s area of focus.

At the time, Jessica was also attending grad school at UC Berkley, studying public health and telehealth-related research. Upon learning out about Futuro’s Advanced Telehealth Coordinator Program, it seemed like circumstances were aligning for her to advance her practical knowledge while also working towards a master’s degree. In the fall of 2020, she decided to sign up for the program.

Futuro’s telehealth program was entirely online, with an option to have synchronous classes with other students, meeting at the same time to discuss the material together.

However, Jessica opted instead for the self-guided course, which better fit her situation. It allowed her to set her own schedule and work at her own pace, which made it easier to balance the course with her grad school studies. The program also set deadlines, though, which gave Jessica the drive she needed her to complete the coursework within the given timeframe.

Lessons took the form of individual education modules. One module would be a video. Another would be a case study. These different modules demonstrated different approaches to telehealth. But to Jessica, the real benefit wasn’t just in learning the different methods but seeing how they all fit together, towards launching a telehealth program at your own organization.

Of course, completing the program was sometimes an uphill battle. Balancing it with her grad schoolwork wasn’t always easy.

“I got a little behind,” admits Jessica. “I had to prioritize. But there was flexibility.” The program’s flexibility also allowed her to catch up around the holidays, when her grad school program was on a break. With that little extra push, Jessica was able to finish the program on time.

As for what’s next for Jessica…“I want to continue deepening my knowledge and understanding of innovation and technology and working with underserved population.”

About the Futuro Health Advanced Telehealth Coordinator Program

The Advanced Telehealth Coordinator Program, offered exclusively in 2020 and 2021, is a 15-week online course, designed to lay the foundation of telehealth’s uses and benefits. It covered things like patient-doctor videoconferences, virtual counseling appointments, remote patient monitoring programs, and more. The curriculum was designed to help healthcare professionals adopt telehealth applications and explore the creative aspects of using technology to deliver healthcare.

The program was self-guided and offered 4.5 Continuing Education Credits, and an Advanced Telehealth Coordinator Certificate.

To learn more about Futuro Health and the Futuro Health Advanced Telehealth Coordinator Program, visit https://futurohealth.org/.