Running Head: DYNAMIC HEALTH CARE
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9-2 Short Paper: Health Care Staffing Shortages
HRM 630
SNHU
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In the dynamic health care setting, staff shortage is a serious problem that could
impact the performance and productivity of the entire sector. In the article titled ‘What
Works: Healing the Healthcare Staffing Shortage,’ it has been identified the shortage of staff
in the health care domain has the potential to alter market settings and give rise to
complexities for health care executives. It has even been projected that in the coming three to
five years a large number of physicians as well as nursing professionals would start to retire.
Such a projection is a serious matter of concern because it can further escalate the staff
shortage problem in the health care landscape. The federal government had further made the
projection that by 2020, around 24,000 doctors and 1 million nurses would retire. Such
projections indicate that there is an urgent need to establish a well-designed workforce plan
in the health care domain. Such a plan can play an instrumental role to effectively deal with
the staff shortage problem.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified health workers as the
backbone of the entire health care system. They are the ones that ensure that the health needs
of the general public are met, and they are able to lead a quality life (Health Workers: A
global profile - world health organization, 2006). The shortage of staff problem could lead to
an imbalance in the health care setting, and it could also compromise the quality-of-care
solutions that are delivered to the vulnerable individuals and groups in the society. In the
prevailing health care setting, it is imperative to find a long-term solution to address the
workforce shortage problem. For instance, some of the major staff-related issues that exist
need to be identified and rectified. It has been revealed in the findings of the article that at
present, the process for educating and retaining new nursing professionals is ineffective and
broken. Similarly, the hospital leaders have always been in a denial when it comes to
acknowledging the dissatisfaction among nursing practitioners. Additionally, executives and
leaders operating in the health care landscape give high priority to the issues relating to
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payments and regulatory aspects and the workforce shortage issues are not govern much
thought. For addressing the workforce issues these areas need to be mended. Otherwise, in
the future, the lack of adequate number of nurses as well as doctors could cripple the entire
health care system and adversely affect the quality of health of individuals in the society. The
article has covered a very serious topic that has the potential to have an impact on each and
every individual who relies on health care services. It is vital to devise suitable strategic
interventions so that the staff shortage problem can be addressed. For instance, technology-
oriented training could be offered to the clinical and medical professionals so that they could
focus on the quality-of-care solutions that are delivered to patients. Similarly, there is an
opportunity to develop public-private partnerships so that diverse parties can function in a
collective manner for promoting nursing and physician programs (Health Industries. PwC,
2021, p. 5).
The staff shortage problem in the health care domain could have an adverse impact
on the triangle of health care that involves access, cost and quality. The reduction in the
number of health care workers could diminish the ability of vulnerable individuals and
patients to access them as per their health needs. It could further hamper the quality of their
health and lead to negative health outcomes. Similarly, the reduction in the health staff could
increase the costs that patients pay to avail health care services from physicians and doctors.
It could not only increase the financial burden for individuals who are in urgent need for care
solutions, but it could also increase their health-related vulnerability. The rise in cost relating
to health care services and solutions could further increase its inaccessibility for people
belonging to low-income groups. In terms of quality of care, the shortage of health care staff
would also act as a major source of issue. The reduced staff members may feel burdened to
meet the rising health needs of the public. It could negatively affect their ability to deliver
quality health care solutions. Thus, it could negatively affect the quality of health outcome of
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vulnerable individuals. Hence the shortage of health care workforce is a serious issue that
could intensify in the future and lead to inefficiency, imbalance, and poor performance of the
entire health care system. Since health care is one of the fundamental needs for an individual,
the staff-related issue in the health care domain could spill over and it could affect other
industries, sectors and areas. It is critical to find long-term solutions to resolve the health care
staffing problem so that the entire health care system can continue to operate efficiently.
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References
Health Workers: A global profile - world health organization. (2006). Retrieved March 1,
2022, from https://www.who.int/whr/2006/06_chap1_en.pdf
Health Industries. PwC. (2021). Retrieved March 1, 2022, from
https://www.pwc.com/healthindustries
