Healthcare industries and the current economic crisis are colliding with a force yet to be realized. The economic constraints on healthcare are becoming more evident and the future of the healthcare industry is increasingly uncertain. One thing we know for sure is that we're in for a total reformation. And with the summer months traditionally the time of year when nursing graduates enter the workforce, how will they find the job market and what will the future hold for them?
A changing workforce
For many years, there was a lot of focus on retention and recruitment. Time, energy, and resources were spent learning how to keep employees and how to maintain an environment conducive to attracting new employees. Yet in recent months, there has been an abrupt turnaround. As healthcare institutions take full stock of their resources and determine how they can maintain quality patient care while decreasing costs, human resources are under intense scrutiny. The nursing shortage is temporarily stymied. Experienced nurses who were planning to retire have decided to continue working after the disastrous effects the economy has had on their retirement planning as well as the uncertain future. Other nurses have reentered the workforce. Nurses are reluctant and unable to retire in an uncertain economy, and many institutions are either laying off, not hiring, or have rescinded offers to nursing graduates.
Managing today's staff
Statistics report that the healthcare industry has added 500,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2009. This represents half of last year's average monthly job growth, and the growth margin is expected to narrow.1 Nursing graduates may find less opportunities open to begin their career.
This presents a challenge to healthcare institutions that need to plan and maintain a productive workforce for the present, ensure a full workforce for the future, and continue to cultivate a healthy balance of staff. The nursing shortage could potentially increase when the economic climate normalizes and nurses feel comfortable retiring. The potential is also there for a mass exodus of experienced nurses and an influx of new nurses just beginning their practice.
These are difficult scenarios that healthcare institutions need to address. It takes time to train perioperative nurses. Who will be preceptor and serve as a role model for future perioperative nurses? How do we keep future nursing candidates interested in pursuing the nursing profession if current graduates are having difficulty finding jobs? How do we maintain a balance of meeting the fiscal needs of today while preparing to meet the personnel needs of tomorrow?
We're rapidly finding out that the healthcare industry is not recession-proof. Only time will tell us the full impact of the economic crisis on healthcare and nursing. How we manage the present and plan for the future will impact the retention and recruitment of our nursing workforce and affect the prospects of an adequate workforce in the years to come.
Elizabeth M. Thompson, RN, CNOR, MSN
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing Education Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. [email protected]
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