How leaders are building the healthcare workforce pipeline

How leaders are building the healthcare workforce pipeline unknown

The workforce is top of mind for hospitals and health systems, and executives are investing in retention and upskilling to address shortages and reduce reliance on contract labor. While leaders understand they must address short-term workforce needs, they also understand they must build a robust talent pipeline with candidates who are ready to fill roles years down the road.

"We've got to start thinking about it differently and probably getting to people a lot earlier than we do now," Laura Hurst, administrator for Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority, an affiliate of Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Health System, told Becker's. "We probably have to start focusing on our high school students and medical school students, introducing them to some of these [healthcare] fields."

Ms. Hurst said this may include implementing a summer initiative for high school students that incorporates hands-on learning opportunities related to healthcare, or using virtual reality to introduce community members to a "day in the life" of a pharmacy technician or certified nursing assistant.

Cooper Green has also integrated physician interns from the UAB program into the clinic, all of whom spend a month at Cooper Green, according to Raegan Durant, MD, medical director of Cooper Green.

"Our hope is that more than one of those interns when they're done with residency may be interested in Cooper Green," Dr. Durant said.

These efforts come as the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates the U.S. could see a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. The group also warned that, without continued investments in graduate medical education, the nation will end up seeing a greater shortfall.

Additionally, a Sept. 29 report from McKinsey & Co. found that projections show the U.S. will need more than a million more nurses by 2031, but more than 80% of positions will be left vacant.

With these and other projected shortages in mind, Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health is looking at short-term (next one to two years), mid-term (four to five years) and long-term (beyond five years) strategies, according to Adrienne Sims, PsyD, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at the health system.

These strategies include working more closely with high schools, community colleges and other schools to help provide instruction and support and highlight the benefits of working in healthcare.

"For a lot of our high school students, it's about exposure and helping them understand the benefits of working in healthcare," Dr. Sims said.

IU Health is also doubling efforts in existing programs or creating new partnerships. For example, the health system has a fellowship program with Crispus Attucks High School, a local high school, to help students prepare for healthcare careers, said Dr. Sims. 

"By the time they graduate and complete the program, they can come out as a medical assistant or patient care tech and assistant," she said. "We're funding that program and have been in partnership with them for four or five years. 

"The first cohort of graduates are coming out now. Some will go on to seek additional two-year or four-year degrees, and some we're placing for employment now." 

Dr. Sims views the program as a short-term pipeline for roles such as medical assistants, but also as a way to support individuals going on to additional degrees, with the hope they come back to IU Health once they've completed their education.

There is also the Mosaic Center, a community-based unit within IU Health committed to helping underemployed and unemployed people in the community prepare for careers with IU Health or another institution. Dr. Sims said the center offers resume support, childcare support, and other support related to helping individuals think about their career options in healthcare and equipping them with financial awareness skills, certification opportunities and job placement opportunities.

"Ideally, we want them employed at IU Health, but more importantly, we want to ensure they have meaningful employment, so we're preparing them for all of those things," she said.

IU Health also has six internal certification programs that target the pipelines of talent the health system has at the entry level. This includes those who are coming into food/nutrition roles and those who are coming into facilities roles or housekeeping. 

"We're saying to them, 'We have opportunities where we can train you while paying you,'" Dr. Sims said, adding that this could include training to become a medical assistant or an emergency medical technician, for example.

"It creates another pipeline of talent internally," she said. "Taking those already in the organization who are underemployed and have potential to do more, certifying them while paying them."

IU Health will also partner with other hospitals and health systems in Indiana on an apprenticeship program as part of a broader effort at the state level.

Overall, "this is a time where we have to be examining all the roles we have in healthcare and really challenging ourselves to look at the requirements and make sure we have not built out requirements for jobs that are too restrictive," Dr. Sims said. "I think the industry and the nature of work has moved beyond just relying on degrees [and requires] focusing more on skills-based competencies and certifications and making sure we have job descriptions that are appropriate to the levels of competencies required for the role."

Michael Brown, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Houston Methodist, expressed similar sentiments, telling Becker's his organization is moving to a skills-based architecture to organize its workforce.

"In doing so, we're starting to put a focus on skills needed for roles and weigh those more so than you might traditionally weigh years of experience. It will expand our talent pool for talent for critical roles, and it helps employees and their manager do a better job of career planning, knowing that employees expect they will be developed in an organization as an attempt to retain them for years to come," Mr. Brown said.

He said Houston Methodist is also continuing to explore partnerships with local colleges to develop skills for the future and to upskill its workforce. It is also considering potentially expanding tuition reimbursement to cover certifications, instead of only degrees, and it is expanding hiring into other states to employ workers who would want to join Houston Methodist in select roles.

"It's expanding that talent pool, looking not just in your geography, but looking for where it makes sense to find talent for specific roles," Mr. Brown said.

"We're also focused on retaining the talent we have. We continue to believe our culture and values are the differentiator for us being able to attract, retain talent."