Health Care

Career Ladder for the Health Professions

Background: While unemployment is growing rapidly, healthcare is one area where hiring is continuing and shortages persist.  A number of national and state studies indicate that the shortage of health care workers will continue to grow – especially as baby boomers age.

Evidence of this shortage includes:

* The Federal Health Resources and Services Administration anticipates a growing gap between the demand for nurses and supply. By 2020, the U.S. gap will grow to over 1 million nurses.⁽¹⁾

* In our state, the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board) conducted a gap analysis⁽²⁾ that showed annual shortfalls through 2014 of more than:

- 500 registered nurses (RNs)
- 300 physicians, surgeons and specialists
- 275 medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians.

* A 2007 Employment Security Department survey⁽³⁾ found that the state was short more than 12,000 health care personnel at the beginning of 2007 — nearly double the vacancy rate reported just four years ago (see Figure 2).

Legislative Actions: In addition to establishing and funding the Workforce Board, the Legislature has funded other programs to address the shortage:

* The 2008 supplemental operating budget included funding for the health professional scholarship and loan program - designed to promote physicians entering primary care positions

* The 2008 supplemental operating budget also included a proviso to promote a career ladder for hospital workers . This approach assumed a natural education progression that could be expanded to:

- Provide retraining opportunities for workers displaced from other industries
- Provide stable jobs for the future – jobs that cannot be outsourced. Further, these jobs are spread evenly across the state and would greatly benefit rural areas with high rates of unemployment
- Provide opportunities for advancement for workers in the field
- Create a pipeline of students into the higher level professions

Proposal: Determine whether we can tap federal economic stimulus funds or unemployment insurance funds for worker retraining to establish a health care career ladder program. The program would provide opportunities for advancement in the health professions, such as:

* Displaced workers to receive training to become Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) and similar positions.

* Current CNA’s and LPN’s to attend school to become RNs and other health care professions.

* Including higher education in the career ladder by enabling RNs to receive training to become Nurse Practitioners. This would have the added advantage of helping address the serious shortage of primary care providers in our state.

Sources:
1 - http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/behindrnprojections/4.htm
2 - http://www.wtb.wa.gov/Documents/Progress2007-Section1.pdf
3 - Employment Security Department (ESD), Job Vacancy Survey, April 2006.