America needs to grow and diversify its workforce
Labor shortages and burnout are often worse in communities experiencing health disparities, which are historically communities of color, lower-income communities, and rural communities.
These communities not only need more health care workers, they would also significantly benefit from (and, frankly, deserve) a workforce that reflects the demographic and social characteristics of the population. Volumes of research show the importance of this.
For patients, having doctors and other clinicians who, through lived experience or learned cultural competence, share or understand their background is critical. Being cared for by someone who can relate to patients and stand in their shoes is essential to building the necessary trust to improve health. For workers, a staff that appropriately reflects the community with which they identify can help address feelings of isolation, misunderstanding, and burnout.
At Kaiser Permanente, we’re providing clinical education opportunities to address the workforce shortage, with a focus on health equity.
Specifically, we focus on the exorbitant cost of education and the daunting educational time commitment — issues that especially impact people coming from underserved communities, where resources to invest in the future are often limited or unavailable.
For years, Yakima County hospitals have had a symbiotic relationship with the nursing programs at area colleges. Schools have supplied the hospitals with new nurses every year, and in return, hospitals have provided students with opportunities to get real-world nursing experience while still in school.
A shortage of nurses, which was greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has contributed to a loss of services and available beds in hospitals in Yakima County and across the U.S. With many health care professionals leaving the field during the pandemic, nursing programs in universities and colleges across the country remain the greatest hope for a return to normalcy.