Be Ready to Meet the Needs for Health Care
As Economy Recovers More Professionals will be Needed
Apr 16, 2009
Take nursing for instance, there is a critical nursing shortage that continues to grow. By 2020, there will be a shortage of one million nurses in the U.S. Around the world the nursing shortage is also reaching critical levels. Currently the average age of nurses in the U.S. is 49. As more nurses age, and retire, the shortage grows.
The shortage of nurse educators keeps thousands of qualified students out of nursing programs each year and therefore the shortage is not going to be solved any time soon.
With the economic downturn, many nurses have put off retirement and many have returned to the job force because of economic factors. Additionally, hospitals continue to be the largest employer of nurses and with patient censuses down, administrators have reduced hiring.
Nurse-to-Patient Ratios are Key to Quality Care
Some states such as California, have a nurse-to-patient ratio which is governed by law. Other states are considering similar legislation, but are now being lobbied heavily to postpone this legislation.
Studies have proven that quality of patient care is diminished when nurses have too many patients to care for. This is especially true in specialized areas such as ICU, NICU, and telemetry. Nurses have fought hard for better work conditions to provide quality patient care for many years, and these need to be preserved and not lost because of economic factors.
Consumers Delay Care
Other fields in health care are facing similar cutbacks or hiring freezes due to lower patient populations. In poor economic times, patients put off elective procedures. This has also been a very slow flu season resulting in fewer hospitalizations. The number of uninsured is growing rapidly and therefore fewer people are seeking health care.
As the economy recovers in the next few months to years, health care needs are expected to expand perhaps even faster than previously predicted. One reason is that those who have neglected their health care needs will become sicker. Others will begin to once again make wellness and health status a priority.
Be Prepared to Meet the Needs
Health care jobs will probably see a huge boom as the economy recovers. Nurses will see home health care surpassing hospital needs by 2016. Other fields will see a demand as more people demand more and better health care.
With the promise of health care reform on the horizon, many new jobs are already being created in associated fields such as IT. Health care reform will rely heavily on the adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs).
Medicare has implemented a program for electronic prescribing. Physicians who adopt this practice are reimbursed at a higher rate than those who do not. Electronic prescribing has been shown to reduce medication errors significantly which translates to savings that can be passed along to the providers. Since January 2009, the number of electronic prescriptions has grown over 200% from January 2008.
Those considering a career in health care should continue to investigate the possibilities and pursue these goals. Most careers will require specific education and/or training. Obtaining that education or training may be a good option at this time. This can be especially true for those who have been laid off. Taking advantage of the time available and getting the new training will help to poise them for opportunities as the economy recovers.
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