New beginnings at NLH through the Dartmouth Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program

The Dartmouth Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program provides 12 weeks of paid training during which participants gain the skills and knowledge to become a Medical Assistant. They work in the clinical setting with nurses and doctors and provide patient screening services, immunizations, EKGs, vital signs and medical record documentation. Recently two New London Hospital participants shared their journey and experience to better serve our patients as a medical assistant.

Terry Stoecker

After 30 years of working in education, Terry Stoecker became interested in pursuing a new career with Dartmouth Health. During an appointment with her primary care provider, she met Certified Medical Assistant Kathy Kierstead, who was apprenticing with one of the NLH nurse team members. After speaking with Kathy, Terry took action.

“In that moment, I knew the time was right. That day, I gave notice to my employer and began the process of applying to the Dartmouth Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program,” Terry shares.

“Having been a teacher for most of my life, I found all of the educators and their collective educational practices to be engaging, supportive, thoughtful, and, most importantly, very effective given the time frame of the program,” she says. “One of the most important qualities of the application process was the truth and honesty about the workload. The teachers let us know right up front that we would be dedicating evenings and weekends to homework, which helped us plan accordingly.”

Terry reports that the program’s educators offered students many opportunities to work together during class and provided generous support via email. She credits this with her success both in preparing for the NHA Exam and her clinical work on the family practice team at NLH.

“The structure and support the program provides for each student is outstanding.  I have recommended it to others and will continue to do so,” Terry says. “One of the best aspects was the demographics of the class. It was absolutely fabulous to be working with the range of ages and backgrounds of my classmates—an extraordinary group of human beings. That speaks to the climate that lives within not only this program, but also, Dartmouth Health.”

Terry currently works as an MA in Family Medicine at New London Hospital. “I am happier than I have been in a long while. I feel part of an extraordinary team and every day I am serving others on their personal pathways to health and well-being,” says Stoecker.

Caitlin Waltzer

As schools closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caitlin Waltzer left her position as site director for an afterschool program and took a patient representative job for a hospital in the state of Washington. It was there she witnessed the struggles of both the families and staff.

“The hospital was only allowing one visitor at a time to see patients, and in some cases, saying goodbye to their family members on iPads because nobody was allowed to enter the COVID-19 rooms or wings,” she explains. “It was soul-crushing. I found myself wishing I could do more to help make a difference, somehow, especially since the medical staff were burning out due to being overworked and understaffed.”

In January of 2023, Caitlin moved back to New Hampshire and began looking for a starting point for a medical career path when she learned about the Dartmouth Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program.

It certainly offers a lot in terms of accelerated education, training, pay and professional development.

Caitlin Waltzer

“The program was fantastic. I felt that the staff were knowledgeable and supportive, and nearly constantly available when questions arose during the learning process, which was daily for most of our class,” Waltzer says. “It certainly offers a lot in terms of accelerated education, training, pay and professional development—especially as a starting point since I plan to continue [my education] in the medical field.”

Caitlin is currently working in the New London Hospital Express Care. “Our core team is really tight, and we are in constant communication. The MA workload in Express Care can be fast-paced and can vary according to our patient needs. On any given day, we see anywhere between 25 to 45 patients,” Waltzer says.

Learn more about the Dartmouth Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program.