Healthcare Workers
Our healthcare system is no longer healthy. Amid continued fallout from the pandemic, today’s healthcare professionals are more exhausted and burnt out than ever before. In fact, a recent Forbes article cited a new report, “Clinician of the Future,” that found up to 47% of healthcare workers plan to leave their positions by 2025. The global study also found that 71% of doctors and 68% of nurses believe their jobs have changed considerably in the past 10 years, with many saying their jobs have gotten worse.
Unfortunately, the story only gets worse when these statistics are examined within the context of the overall economy. First, we have to acknowledge the aging American population. The number of adults ages 85 and older, the group most often in need of help with basic personal care, is expected to nearly quadruple between 2000 and 2040. Simultaneously, the number of workers supporting Social Security beneficiaries is expected to drop, reducing a source of healthcare funding for seniors. When you also factor in that three-quarters of the healthcare workforce is on their way out, the scarcity of skilled care is going to overwhelm an already crippled system.
This is a reality we cannot afford to ignore.
Now, more than ever, we need to invest in expanding the healthcare workforce to combat the predicted exodus. Instead of shrugging our shoulders with indifference, we should be making healthcare workers feel not only valued, but indispensable. Clapping for healthcare workers at 7 pm every Tuesday during the pandemic was a nice gesture, but they need more. We need to find tangible changes that can make healthcare work more accessible and rewarding. But, how do we best achieve this?
Fractionalize labor within the healthcare industry
For starters, healthcare workers need more flexibility in their grueling schedules. We can’t ignore the fact that healthcare professionals who work in high pressure settings, like nurses, certified nursing assistants (CNAs), medical assistants and phlebotomists, are overworked and overburdened. Healthcare professionals need greater flexibility and the ability to decide what works best for them.
The 20 year-old rulebook of how things have always been done no longer applies; it’s time to provide workers with freedom to choose how much (or how little) they work.
By breaking up their jobs into smaller shifts, also called fractionalization, healthcare workers could choose the number of hours they want on their schedules rather than being told to clock in for a 12-hour shift. Even if some workers significantly decrease the number of hours they work, it’s still better that they stay in the industry and work a little — versus leave altogether.
Reimagine the certification system
We also need to rapidly renew the certification processes associated with new entrants into healthcare, or those taking on new roles in the system. In particular, we need to make the certification process significantly more affordable and less time-consuming.
Instead of allowing profit-seeking institutions to charge aspiring healthcare professionals thousands of dollars to secure the required certifications, why can’t an acute care center or hospital write off the expense as a cost of doing business? Instead of expecting a CNA to invest months to get certified, why can’t they take an immersive three-day course instead, coupled with on-the-job training? By identifying and removing some of these key barriers to entry, we can make it easier for healthcare workers to remain engaged with and working in the industry.
Cast a wider net into the labor pool
Another major must-have is more ways to expand the talent pool. One idea is to broaden global policies that reduce visa thresholds and allow greater access to qualified professionals. For example, to combat the NHS nursing shortage, the UK has employed similar tactics to recruit nurses from other countries. In fact, “travel nurses” are in more demand than ever, making up to $8,000 per week. These policies could easily extend to other medical tasks that are not country dependent, like drawing blood. Traveling phlebotomists, for instance, could help countries provide skilled care to their populations. By thinking outside the confines of geographical borders, global healthcare systems may be able to better attract higher qualified professionals to join their labor pool.
The threads that hold our healthcare system together are coming dangerously close to unraveling. If we have any hope of preserving them, we must find new ways to provide healthcare workers with the support, resources and tools they need to deliver high quality patient care. We can’t be afraid to think boldly and reimagine the status quo.
It’s literally a matter of life or death.
