Description
There were several different reasons for workforce shortages. You as a healthcare professional, need to identify these reasons for the workforce shortages.
Please list the top three reasons you believe that there is a shortage and write a 1,500-1,750-word essay detailing your reasons. Remember to specifically address the following in your reasoning:
- Consider some short-term solutions.
- Consider some long-term solutions.
- Identify a special interest group or government agency that would help you write policy to solve the problem.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
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Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running Head: WORKFORCE SHORTAGE IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
Workforce Shortage in the Healthcare Sector
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Institution of Affiliation
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Date
1
WORKFORCE SHORTAGE IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
Introduction
The healthcare sector globally is facing the challenges of workforce shortage due to a
number of reasons. Today, the issues have become a major concern for healthcare stakeholders
making it’s a priority at the forefront of policy analysis and strategic planning in the healthcare
industry. Despite the fact that many healthcare players are aware of the significance of a
qualified workforce in this sector, the strategies used to remedy the workforce shortage are not
effective and has never yielded any positive results. None the less, stakeholders may implement
both short-term and long-term solution to deal with the challenges as they engage interest groups
and government agencies in drafting a workforce policy that would help in addressing the
shortage across the industry. This paper provides an overview of the causes of workforce
shortage in the healthcare industry, the possible short-term and long-term solution to the
shortage, and the government agencies and interest groups that may be engaged in the
formulation of policies to address the challenge.
Causes of Workforce Shortage in the Healthcare Industry
Workforce shortage in the healthcare sector has been a major issue for the past 15 years
and is feared to continue causing challenges in the industry if no mitigating measures and
policies are taken. Based on a survey on healthcare training institutions, healthcare service
providers, and other stakeholders, it was established that many healthcare institutions face at
least a 20% vacancy rate in their healthcare workforce (World Health Organization, 2016b). This
high rate of shortage means that there is a need for more workforce in this sector to provide
accessible, quality, and affordable healthcare to its citizens. By the year 20130, it is projected
that the workforce shortage in the healthcare industry will high over 105,000 physicians, 43,300
primary care physicians, and over 61,700 non-primary physicians.
The major contributing factors that may have caused the dire workforce shortage
witnessed in the industry is the continued growth in the aging population which pile pressure on
the healthcare workforce due to their need for specialized care (World Health Organization,
2016b). On the other hand, the healthcare professionals who specialized in the provision of care
to this particular group are few, leading to an overwhelmed workforce that is forced to double
their role by providing care to the aging population.
Another possible cause of the workforce shortage is the less number of new people
joining the healthcare pr...
