SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — CoxHealth and Ozarks Technical Community College have teamed up to provide people with an opportunity to get paid to learn to be a medical assistant.

The CoxHealth Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program provides full-time pay of at least $15.25 per hour for 16 weeks while students go through the program. This includes benefits such as insurance.

Applications are being accepted through the end of June. You can apply online. Anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent is welcome to apply.

Students will get hands-on experience at OTC and CoxHealth facilities and will be considered for a job with CoxHealth once they have successfully completed the program.

In April, OTC and CoxHealth announced a similar program that pays people to learn to be Emergency Medical Technicians while getting paid.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the already-existing shortage of nurses and medical assistants even more serious in Missouri. In January 2022, CoxHealth announced a Healthcare Support Role available for nursing students.