HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGE

Health care is a service industry that, despite the magnificent developments in medical technology, still relies on people.  With more than 10.9 million people employed in the health care industry in 2000 and that number predicted to grow by nearly 29 percent by 2010, the workforce remains the backbone of health care delivery.  Although it had been projected for some time, in the past few years a shortage of health care workers has occurred and is now felt in many health care fields ranging from nursing to pharmacy to radiology and lab techs. In June 2001, the American Medical Association announced a shortage of physicians in some regions and specialties, along with evidence of additional shortages in the future. In some cases, the shortage is due to dramatically increased demand, as is the case with pharmacists. In other cases, it is due to a reduction in supply, such as in the nursing field.  The impact on health care delivery has been felt, with more and more hospitals reporting increased waiting times for emergency room treatment and surgery, due to staff shortages. In addition, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report in November 2003 that pointed to staffing shortages as a factor that causes medical errors. Thus, addressing health care workforce shortages is a critical aspect in the delivery of high quality medical care. Solutions to the problem must be as diverse as the many reasons that cause it – including efforts to recruit new health care workers and improvements in retention of existing staff.