Case Study : Healthcare Professionals Shortage

In 2000, it was estimated that there were 110,000 open nursing positions, by 2025, it is projected that the open nursing positions will grow to 260,000. The shortage is due to many aspects including, rising population, decreasing of new students in nursing school, decline in nursing earnings compared to other growing occupational fields, aging of nursing workforce and the aging population that will need health care services in the near future. A survey found that 55% of registered nurses intend to retire between 2011 and 2015. This is primarily the

Registered nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system, and make up the largest number of healthcare professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) “The employment rate for registered nurses is expected to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024”. This is more than double the average rate of growth for a profession. The rapid growth rate can be attributed in part to better management of chronic diseases and the baby boomer generation. The growth in the nursing profession is paramount, however the demographics of the nursing population does not mirror the demographics of the population served.

As a Healthcare administrator there are many different challenges to be faced. Being the backbone of any company in general is a hard but rewarding task. On a day-to-day basis healthcare administrators have to deal with the bulk of the problems wherever they work. The people in these positions deal with things ranging from unethical doctors, to hiring and firing the janitor. The topic this paper is going to focus on is the type of issues healthcare administrators deal with when going through the process of employment for their doctors.

Buerhaus, Auerbach, and Staiger (2009), estimate the nursing shortage to grow to 260,000 by 2025. They pinpoint the rapidly aging workforce as a principle contributor to the projected shortage. A deficiency of this extent would be twice as large as any nursing shortage experienced in this nation since the 1960s. Further complicating the problem is the fact that a substantial portion of the nursing workforce is approaching retirement age. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2013) predict that within the next 10 to 15 years, more than one million registered nurses over the age of 50 will reach retirement.

In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the United States would be 800,000 registered nurses short of the national need by the year 2020. Recently, this number has increased to over one million RNs short of the need by 2012. Although there has been some indication that the entry of older nurses into the profession, along with efforts to recruit foreign-born nurses, have helped to ease the shortage, scholars project that the predicted trends are likely to continue (Auerbach, Buerhaus, & Steiger, 2007; Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman and Dittus, 2006; Larkin, 2007). As such, the need for understanding the factors contributing to the nationwide shortage has never been greater.

The physician shortage did not just pop up over night it has been a constant problem that has grown over the years. After World War 2, the United States experienced a big increase in the amount of children that were born. This increase lasted around two decades after the war. This generation was called the Baby Boomers because the increase of children born was so dramatic. This generation is part of the reason for the doctor shortage that is occurring today (Goodnough). As the baby boomers are becoming older, they require more healthcare and with their great numbers, doctors are having a difficult time providing care to all of them and their other patients. Another factor contributing to the shortage is the Affordable Care Act. When the statute was passed “-millions of formally uninsured men and

With the world of healthcare changing, no one really knows what is going to happen in the future. All we can do is predict, and wait for all of the bugs to be fixed as they arise. We do know that with everyone receiving healthcare, there will be a large increase of people who are now insured. What does this mean; more people will be trying to see the doctor, longer wait times and now a shortage of physicians. The time that it takes for a physician to receive all of their training just isn’t fast enough to keep up with the demand. We need people now and training takes at least 7 years. Then there is the issue: what if they want to specialize. If they specialize that leaves less physicians available to practice in primary care. Many of the physicians that are working today are close to retirement age, and they will be leaving soon. New policies need to be created and hospitals need to try to recruit physicians and need to get them to stay.

By 2010, unless many more young people become nurses, about 40 percent of the nursing work force will be over age 50, according to the General Accounting Office (“Nursing Workforce”, 2001).

Health care administration is a very important and crucial role in today’s healthcare system. With an ever-changing national health care system, the role of a Health care Administrator or Healthcare Executive more than ever is needed. Healthcare facilities, organizations, and or offices rely on health care administrators to plan, direct and coordinate all medical health services (United States Department of Labor , 2014). Some areas where one might find administrators are managing entire medical facilities, specialized clinical departments, or a medical practice for a group of physicians (United States Department of Labor , 2014). The need for high-quality health care administers is more now than ever with the fast-changing health care laws.

The massive baby boomer generation, making up almost one-third of the population, began to turn age 65 in 2011. By the same token, this deluge of new patients could put new strains on the nursing workforce, possibly leading to higher patient-to-nurse ratios. (Page, 2015).

Rachel Gotbaum did an interview on nursing shortage in 2007. There were multiple interviews with health care professionals through her interviews she found that “In the next decade 80 million people will retire. She has stated that since health care changes constantly that nurses need to continue their education no matter how old or how many years they have been in the medical field. When medicine is involved you should always be up-to-date on the latest technology and diagnosis. Nurses may become suddenly ill or injured were they are no longer able to give care anymore. You can never plan if an

Healthcare management is a great, complex, and dynamic field. Like any business, healthcare requires exceptional administration to keeps its operations effective and smooth. Notably, the healthcare field is constantly growing, calling for the expertise of skilled administrators with the capacity to manage hospitals. Since my childhood, I have enjoyed solving problems, helping people, caring about the community and individuals, and having an excellent compensation and growth opportunities.

When examined with a short-term or a long-term view, the health care industry expected to be a solid and growing source of employment in the coming months and through the next decade, (Healthcare, 2010). As chief of legal the challenge of staff shortage is to ensure employees retention through programs and recognition and tracking individual success “small things make a difference” like nurses week with the give of gifts such as proving a breakfast of making the staff feel their appreciated for all the things they do in delivering high patient care. Although, it is important for the organization to understand employees need special recognition, this set the standard they their hard work does not go unnoticed. Customer is the main success

The number of physicians in the country has been decreasing at such a great rate that the government and other stakeholders in the health care sector are trying to camouflage this by increasing the number of foreign doctors practicing in the country. The American Medical Association has been trying to promote these re-entry programs designed for physicians since the year 2009 to help curb this problem. There are many people who can see what the problem is, but it is not possible for them to do much about it. Physicians also see this problem, and they are well aware of why the shortage is arising, but they are also unable to do much to prevent the issue. There are many problems that lead to the shortage of physicians, and unless something is done, it will continue escalating ADDIN EN.CITE Lynch19721573(Lynch, 1972)1573157317Lynch, MichaelThe Physician "Shortage": The Economists' MirrorAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science82-88399ArticleType: research-article / Issue Title: The Nation's Health: Some Issues / Full publication date: Jan., 1972 / Copyright © 1972 American Academy of Political and Social Science1972Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science00027162http://www.jstor.org/stable/1040122( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_6" o "Lynch, 1972 #1573" Lynch, 1972).

In viewing the issue at hand, it must be noted that the nurse shortage in the United States is not expected to stop any time soon. While the phrase "nurse shortage" has been mentioned for years in the U.S., with the nurse shortage expected to peak in 2020, the median age of nurses standing at 46 with 50% of them close to