Health care shortages – not a temporary or a U.S.- only issue
Many health care organizations that I talk to about staffing challenges mention “a return to normal” or “when this is over” when talking about how to address the situation. But, this staffing crisis isn’t temporary – or a U.S.-only issue. The World Health Organization predicts a shortage of 10 million health care workers by 2030. The most recent 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report states “that more than 275,000 additional nurses are needed from 2020 to 2030. Employment opportunities for nurses are projected to grow at a faster rate (9%) than all other occupations from 2016 through 2026.”
Here are tactics that health care organizations need to employ NOW to ensure that their staffing crisis doesn’t get worse.
Look across the talent supply chain and ensure the following:
Students are interested and enrolling in the needed courses – and that their educational partners are filling their student cohorts.
Barriers to enrollment and to successfully completing training are reduced or removed.
The number of training spots available will produce the needed number of trained workers– nurses, respiratory therapists, care assistants or home care nurses.
Partnerships with educational institutions, education intermediaries (nonprofits and others) are in place to help fund, find, train, and support health care workers.
Look at the work being done and ensure the appropriate level health care worker is performing the task.
Look at how you are scheduling and managing your workforce. Can you utilize flexible scheduling or other tools to make it easier for health care workers to manage their work and life?
The sooner health care organizations realize this is the new normal and not a short-term problem, the better they will survive the storm. From there, they can begin to make real changes to the work and how it is done – and create a viable talent pipeline.