What is the Health Careers Resource Center?

Who We Are

The Health Careers Resource Center services the colleges of the Dallas County Community College District and provides resources and information about health careers and working in the health industry in Texas. Specifically directed toward the citizens of Dallas County, it is a free service to help users identify a career goal, enroll in a health careers program and get a job in that field.

We facilitate in-person and online access to the rich array of diverse credit and continuing education health professions programs in the DCCCD colleges — the largest undergraduate institution in Texas — to help people make informed choices about their future careers.

Find out more general information about DCCCD.

Staff

Shannon Ydoyaga, MS, BBA, Interim Executive Director 

Contact Information: 214-860-2303 or ShannonY@dcccd.edu

Walter Lancaster, BA, HCRC Programs Specialist

Contact Information: 214-860-2279 or WLancaster@dcccd.edu

Danielle Smith, BA, HCRC Programs Specialist

Contact Information: 214-860-2276 or DASmith@dcccd.edu

June Werry, Administrative Assistant

Contact Information: 214-860-2283 or JWerry@dcccd.edu

What We Do

• Inform: We inform the community (current and potential students, health-care providers and employers) about available health career options in the DCCCD colleges by providing a clearinghouse of information for all of its health careers programs, both credit and non-credit.
• Advise: We advise students and provide assessment tools to help them identify the best health career for their interests. We provide the resources for students to explore all of their health career options, including information on the job market, education requirements, salaries and career paths.
• Connect: We help employers connect with the graduates of the programs by advertising and posting job openings, announcing internship possibilities, meeting with students who are about to graduate and interviewing on campus.

Why We Exist

Community colleges educate and train more than 70 percent of practicing health-care professionals in Texas; many are the first ones who touch you or a loved one in an emergency or during routine doctor visits. Unfortunately, North Texas faces an alarming shortage of qualified nurses and allied health professionals. The colleges of Dallas County Community College District are working hard to respond to this challenge.

The Texas Workforce Commission projects that nearly 7,000 nurses will be needed to fill positions in Dallas County in less than seven years. Each year, Dallas County needs 1,000 new nurses and 1,000 new allied health technicians to keep pace with the growing demand for health-care services.

DCCCD colleges produce an average of 230 registered nurses and 200 graduates from its allied health programs each year. While many universities also graduate students in these fields, two-year colleges place more health-care graduates in Texas jobs every year than four-year institutions. For example, in 2004 DCCCD’s El Centro College partnered with Texas Health Resources to prepare 100 employees to become registered nurses in five years. This innovative approach has produced 150 new nurses, ahead of schedule.

DCCCD colleges have trained highly skilled health-care providers for more than 40 years, but North Texas needs more to keep providing health services for an aging population. The HCRC is part of the DCCCD’s “Health Initiative for Excellence” plan, which aims to attract talented students to health-care fields; provide incentives to draw more qualified faculty; and provide world-class facilities, equipment and services, thanks to a $450 million bond program approved by voters in 2004.
 
Contact Us

If you have questions about our health careers programs, please feel free to contact us.