Metro Tech Honors OU Health as 2025 OkACTE Partners in Progress

Metro Tech proudly announces OU Health as its 2025 OkACTE Partners in Progress to recognize their collaboration in building a strong training pipeline for future healthcare professionals.

This award, presented by the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education (OkACTE) and the Oklahoma Association of Technology Centers (OATC), celebrates local businesses and their contributions to CareerTech centers in Oklahoma. OU Health will be recognized alongside Metro Tech at the 2025 Partners in Progress awards event on April 7th, 2025.

Through assigned clinical rotations at OU Health's facilities, students within Metro Tech's Health Careers programs are gaining real-world, hands-on experience in a hospital setting. Metro Tech's Practical Nursing (LPN), Medical Assisting, and Radiologic and Surgical Technology programs currently have more than 70 students on clinical rotation within the OU Health system and over 1,250 clinical slots scheduled for 2025.

These students are on a fast track to join OU Health full-time after graduation. Notably, over half of Metro Tech's 2024 Surgical Technology graduates were hired full-time within the OU Health System.

"As Oklahoma's flagship academic health system, OU Health is dedicated to providing exceptional clinical care, research, and education," OU Health Chief Nurse Executive Stefanie Beavers, DNP, R.N., NEA-BC, said. "By hosting students, we offer them real-world training that enhances their technical skills and fosters teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration, essential for delivering high-quality patient care. Additionally, our seasoned professionals benefit from mentoring the next generation."

Students' duties span various specialties. Medical Assisting students learn to take vitals, administer shots and medications, and perform procedures like throat and nose swabs. Radiology students learn to position patients for X-rays, assist with equipment, and support X-ray procedures.

Surgical Technology students set up surgical trays, maintain sterile procedures, position patients on operation tables, and hand equipment to surgeons during operations.

Practical Nursing students at Metro Tech work with registered nurses (RNs) and OU Health care teams to deliver hands-on patient care. Their responsibilities include taking vital signs, performing blood draws, placing IVs, and educating patients. This valuable clinical experience has contributed to a 91% pass rate for Metro Tech's Practical Nursing students on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

Jenice Jackson, a Metro Tech Practical Nursing student on rotation at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center, said she values the opportunity to work with experienced nurses in the field.

"At OU Health, the RNs on each floor don't just assign us tasks to do on our rotation—they make sure we understand why we're doing it," Jackson said. "They ask important questions about medications, symptoms, and parameters, ensuring we understand the 'why' behind our practice. Their expertise is evident, and they're always there to help and answer questions."

OU Health's commitment to healthcare education enhances the partnership's success. By opening its doors to Metro Tech students, the health system plays a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare in Oklahoma. 

"At OU Health, we are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining top talent in healthcare," OU Health Chief Human Resources Officer Jimmy Duncan, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, said. "By working alongside educational institutions like Metro Tech, we are filling gaps in Oklahoma's healthcare workforce. We're creating sustainable healthcare jobs and career pathways and employing key strategies that will enable us to become an employer of choice by making continuous learning and the pursuit of relentless excellence part of everyone's career journey of growth."

By combining comprehensive academic programs at Metro Tech with real-world experience at OU Health, Metro Tech Superintendent Aaron Collins said the collaboration ensures students are well-prepared for rewarding careers that make a difference. 

"Our partnership with OU Health exemplifies our commitment to innovation and workforce readiness," Superintendent Collins said. "By providing our students the opportunity to gain hands-on training in a world-class healthcare environment, we're equipping them with the skills and experience needed to excel in their careers. We are proud to collaborate with OU Health to foster meaningful opportunities that bridge education and industry."