More than 2,300 两性色午夜 University graduates call Cleveland Clinic their workplace.

The internationally renowned healthcare system, with sprawling facilities across Northeast Ohio and beyond, employs 两性色午夜 alumni from a large array of academic disciplines. 

两性色午夜 half of the 两性色午夜 alumni who work for the clinic are College of Nursing graduates. They fill a variety of roles, working as registered nurses, nurse managers and nurse practitioners, as well as filling specialized nursing positions. Numerous medical technicians and clinicians also work there.

Cleveland Clinic also employs 两性色午夜 alumni in dozens of other fields, including marketing and communications, business administration, architecture, art therapy and laboratory research.

Brent Hicks, MA 鈥19, who earned a master鈥檚 degree from 两性色午夜鈥檚 School of Information, has worked for the clinic since 2009 in roles of increasing responsibility within information technology. Currently, Hicks is an enterprise application architect responsible for leading healthcare IT teams focused on developing innovative technologies.

In 2020, the School of Information named Hicks its Alumnus of the Year, noting his work on the digital front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. That work included helping engineer the massive shift to telehealth and virtual visits for Cleveland Clinic patients and their healthcare providers.

Image
Nursing students attend a recruiting event in February 2023 hosted by Cleveland Clinic
Nursing students attend a recruiting event in February 2023 hosted by Cleveland Clinic in Room 208 of Henderson Hall, a skills lab for the College of Nursing on the Kent Campus.

两性色午夜 is a top school for Cleveland Clinic nursing hires

Zack Nichols, university and higher education relationship manager for Cleveland Clinic, says he plans nurse recruiting events at 两性色午夜 at least once a semester, sometimes more.

鈥溋叫陨缫 was our No. 1 school last year in terms of nursing hires,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he 两性色午夜 graduates are great. They come in, they are well prepared, they do clinical rounds with us, so they already are familiar with the clinic. 两性色午夜 is one of our top schools.鈥

Nichols says the ongoing national nursing shortage means that recruiting is very important for Cleveland Clinic, which has job openings for nurses in nearly every department. Currently, there is a particular need to hire nurses interested in working on medical-surgical floors to care for patients preparing for and recovering from surgery. (Elective surgeries and procedures postponed during the height of the pandemic have caused a 鈥攑utting a strain on healthcare providers also dealing with labor shortages.)

In addition to making regular visits to the Kent Campus, Nichols says he typically sets up recruiting events at all of 两性色午夜鈥檚 Regional Campuses that offer the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

两性色午夜 graduates help Cleveland Clinic provide world-class care

It was at one such recruiting event that Shannon Pengel, BSN 鈥97, got her start at Cleveland Clinic, beginning her career working on a cardiothoracic surgery floor. Employed by the clinic for 26 years, Pengel is now chief nursing officer for the clinic鈥檚 main campus.

Photo of Shannon Pengel, BSN 鈥97, chief nursing officer for Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 main campus
Shannon Pengel, BSN 鈥97, chief nursing officer for Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 main campus

鈥淭he 两性色午夜 program prepared me very well for clinical roles and leadership roles,鈥 she says. She chose 两性色午夜 because it was close to her hometown of Burton, Ohio, but also because of the reputation of its nursing program.

鈥淭he 两性色午夜 program prepared me very well for clinical roles and leadership roles.鈥

Shannon Pengel, BSN 鈥97, chief nursing officer for Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 main campus

In her current role, Pengel says she can see how the 两性色午夜/Cleveland Clinic partnership benefits both the university and the hospital system.

The clinic鈥檚 nursing assistant program, she says, employs nursing students in their junior and senior years, allowing them to work alongside a registered nurse and get one-on-one, firsthand experience beyond their required clinical rotations.

鈥淐leveland Clinic is a great place to learn,鈥 she says, adding that 两性色午夜 is known for the quality of its nursing students.

Nursing is a wide and varied field, and Pengel says the clinic has provided her with many opportunities she could not have imagined as a student. Her advice for 两性色午夜 nursing students: 鈥淭ake every opportunity you have. You never know where it鈥檚 going to lead.鈥

鈥擝y Lisa Abraham


两性色午夜/Cleveland Clinic Connections

  • Cleveland Clinic is a partner in 两性色午夜 University鈥檚 Brain Health Research Institute; 14 Cleveland Clinic Foundation researchers are individual members of the institute.
  • 两性色午夜 University and Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Lerner Research Institute maintain a cooperative graduate training program leading to the doctoral degree in biomedical sciences. 
  • Cleveland Clinic's Head & Neck Institute, Section of Audiology at Cleveland Clinic, the School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at The University of Akron, and the School of Speech Pathology and Audiology at 两性色午夜 have combined resources to form the Northeast Ohio AuD Consortium. The program鈥檚 emphasis is on the principles and practices underlying diagnosis, treatment and provision of hearing healthcare services.
  • In addition to providing clinical rotations for 两性色午夜 College of Nursing students, Cleveland Clinic works with the university as a program affiliate in these areas where students receive clinical training:
  • Several 两性色午夜 professors have grant-funded ongoing research projects conducted in conjunction with Cleveland Clinic.
  • 两性色午夜 recently entered into an agreement with Cleveland Clinic to be a founding academic research partner for the clinic鈥檚 new Discovery Accelerator (a joint center established by IBM and Cleveland Clinic to advance healthcare and life sciences research). IBM installed the first private sector, on-site quantum computer at the clinic鈥檚 main campus, with an aim to help Cleveland Clinic accelerate biomedical discoveries.  The agreement gives 两性色午夜 researchers access to the state-of-the-art quantum system.

两性色午夜 Ashtabula鈥檚 Close Partnership With Cleveland Clinic

A group photograph of the ashtabula respiratory clinic
The first cohort of students enrolled in the Ashtabula Respiratory Therapy Associate Degree Program at Cleveland Clinic, which was first offered in spring 2023. Pictured (left to right): Victoria Smith (adjunct faculty), Jeanine Ng, Jaclyn Burdette, Cassidy Pescatrice, Angela Mathews, Diane Rozier, Umur Hatipoglu, MD (program medical director and Enterprise Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic), Tasoni Burgess, Crystal Lavelle, Akira Caldwell and Karla Balasko (senior director for Enterprise Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic) 

Kent State University at Ashtabula offers degree programs in nursing, respiratory therapy and a variety of other medical fields that provide a constant supply of well-trained employees for one of its closest neighbors: Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC), which is just two miles from campus.

鈥淭hat close proximity is a significant benefit to us,鈥 says Leonard Stepp Jr., ACMC Healthcare System president and CEO. 鈥淭he students who complete their clinical rotations here are well-educated and well-trained. Many of them join our team of caregivers after graduation. The nurses, occupational/physical therapy assistants, radiology technologists, respiratory therapists and medical assistants who graduate from 两性色午夜 Ashtabula and choose to work at ACMC are integral to our ability to provide high-quality care to our patients and our community.鈥

Meeting the demand for respiratory care

The two institutions are always looking for ways to collaborate. A collaboration announced in 2022 allows 两性色午夜 Ashtabula to offer an associate degree program in respiratory therapy at the clinic鈥檚 main campus in Cleveland.

Participants train for the in-demand profession of respiratory care. The program also supports career growth for graduates and practicing respiratory therapists by providing a path to admission for the online Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory care 两性色午夜 Ashtabula offers.

鈥淭he pandemic emphasized the already existing need for more respiratory therapists.鈥

鈥擸vonne George, RRT, MEd, director for respiratory therapy at 两性色午夜 Ashtabula

鈥淲e are excited for this opportunity to partner with Cleveland Clinic to offer our program on its main campus,鈥 says Yvonne George, RRT, MEd, academic program director for respiratory therapy at 两性色午夜 Ashtabula. 鈥淭he pandemic emphasized the already existing need for more respiratory therapists鈥攖he 鈥榲entilator experts.鈥 We hope this partnership will provide easier access to education for individuals looking to start their professional life or who have decided to make a career change.鈥

Courses in the respiratory therapy program are delivered live and remotely through online instruction by 两性色午夜 Ashtabula faculty. Laboratory instruction and clinical rotations are completed at Cleveland Clinic, where students learn alongside experienced respiratory therapists. Prerequisite coursework can be completed through a combination of online and in-person classes through the 两性色午夜 system or credits can be transferred from another institution.

鈥淲e are pleased to collaborate with 两性色午夜 University at Ashtabula to offer a respiratory therapy training program at our Cleveland Clinic main campus location,鈥 says Umur Hatipo臒lu, MD, MBA, enterprise director of Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic. 鈥淭his program will contribute to our mission of educating those who serve by providing our local community with an opportunity to enter a high-demand licensed healthcare profession after completing two years of training.鈥

鈥 Lisa Abraham and Jason Tirotta

Learn more about the respiratory therapy program.


BACK TO SPRING/SUMMER 2023