By Eric D. Hargan
America is falling short when it comes to training new healthcare professionals. Similar to the shortages in other sectors of the economy, the U.S. is experiencing a dangerous shortage of nurses and medical workers in the healthcare sector. We are running the risk of removing the ‘care’ from our healthcare system.
“Quick, get the nurse!” is not merely a turn of phrase you might hear in a hospital’s maternity ward or on the set of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ It is a call for help – often a desperate plea – patients know too well. What happens when there is no nurse to answer the call? America is experiencing a lack of access to trained nurses, and access to affordable, immediate medical care is in jeopardy.
Access to medical care matters to all Americans. Innovations, cures, and treatments are vital to everyone in every corner of the country. No nurse means no healthcare. Because it takes years to properly prepare and educate a nurse, the healthcare sector must act now to ensure that we have enough nurses to meet the needs of patients today, as well as tomorrow.
Nursing is a heroic profession. Since the start of the pandemic, nurses served alongside doctors to save the lives of millions of patients suffering from the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 7.5 million Americans were hospitalized due to the coronavirus. Many of these nurses working in our hospitals suffered themselves from being overwhelmed by the crisis. The distress led to an astonishing exodus of health professionals from which our healthcare system must recover. The nursing shortage is so severe that the CDC has issued official guidance on strategies to mitigate healthcare personnel staffing shortages.
America’s nursing shortage was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of patients soared as many healthcare professionals left their positions due to stress and health concerns. The crisis triggered massive burnout where one in five medical care workers quit their jobs.
In the final months of 2021, a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs. One sector most affected by ‘the Great Resignation’ was healthcare. However, the health worker crisis is not behind us. On the contrary, it’s in front of us – a 2022 report published by Elsevier Health found that 47 percent of healthcare workers in the U.S. are looking to leave their jobs over the next three years.
To avert the coming health staffing crisis, novel solutions have become essential. One such approach has been that staffing and recruiting companies, like Health Carousel, are deploying nurses to medical practices and facilities with the highest needs. They are also staffing facilities with foreign-educated nurses who are highly trained and qualified. Foreign-educated nurses are stepping up to serve American patients, and they personally benefit from it as well. They are able to advance their careers in a country with top-notch healthcare training and higher pay.
Fixing the nursing shortage will put the ‘care’ back into healthcare. Hospitals and healthcare systems must review their priorities, offer higher pay, better benefits, and work with recruiting companies to attract the best nurses from around the world.
The pandemic has reshaped the health sector. We need to improve nurse recruiting to improve the greatest healthcare workforce in the world. A reformed, modernized 21st Century healthcare system demands it, and American patients deserve it.
Eric Hargan previously served as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (2017-21) and Acting Secretary (2017-18). He served on the Board of Operation Warp Speed and oversaw other parts of the U.S. pandemic response. He serves on the boards of healthcare organizations, including University Hospitals in Cleveland.
The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.