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With millions of health-conscious Baby Boomers moving into late middle age and hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers looking to retire sooner rather than later, 2008 hiring prospects for nurses, doctors and allied health workers in most specialties are very good indeed.
Hospital employment passed the 4.5 million mark in 2007, and has risen by about 100,000 per year recently, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, turnover among nurses is 13.9 percent, according to a report by Martin, Fletcher, an Irving, Texas-based healthcare staffing firm. This translates to hundreds of thousands of job openings in healthcare each year, with thousands of positions in the highest-demand occupations going begging.
For healthcare veterans who are looking to move up from direct care, opportunities are plentiful. “More and more people at the management level are retiring,” says Tracie Austin, director of executive recruiting at search firm PrincetonOne in Austin, Texas.
One caveat about healthcare job growth in 2008 is that it is somewhat dependent on the health of the macroeconomy. “Since the economy is slowing, the near-term outlook for healthcare is expected to be soft,” says George Van Horn, a senior analyst with research firm IBISWorld.
Fields with Perennial Labor Shortages
Hospitals and other healthcare providers are always looking for qualified professionals to work in laboratory, imaging, pharmacy, rehab, oncology, anesthesia and, of course, nursing. Occupations expected to be in very high demand for the foreseeable future include:
Primary-care physicians, whose earnings are generally much lower than those of specialist MDs, are in demand, with serious shortages in some geographic areas.
As hospitals and physicians’ practices look to contain spiraling expenses, certain advanced-practice professions are booming. “Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are one of the fastest-growing areas,” says Russel Hicks, president of Martin, Fletcher. “Healthcare systems are looking to run their businesses more efficiently, and this is a lower-cost way to provide some of the services that otherwise fall to physicians.”
The aging population is also driving oversized demand in related healthcare specialties. “We have more and more customers moving into our demographic every day,” says Anne Pinter, vice president of human resources at an assisted-living provider.
Jobs Are Migrating from General Hospitals to Other Settings
As the healthcare industry evolves and restructures, healthcare professionals can find opportunities in new practice settings and geographic locations.
“Old-line hospitals have a lot of empty beds,” Van Horn says. Jobs are moving from these institutions to more specialized hospitals and clinics that treat cancer or childhood illnesses or provide rehabilitative services.
Population growth, especially in the Sun Belt states, is driving construction of healthcare facilities. “More hospitals are being built, but there’s not enough space in nursing and allied health schools to train the staff they’ll need,” Austin says.
Meanwhile, existing facilities are looking to expand their high-margin services while jobbing out peripheral activities. “Outsourced services are growing,” Van Horn says. “Outpatient facilities, home-care services and the ambulance sector are all expanding.”
Some healthcare professionals are exploiting this trend to lay claim to a more manageable lifestyle. “You can see the rise in independent imaging and surgery centers,” Hicks says. “Many of these jobs come with an 8-to-5 schedule and no on-call duty.”
Nursing Professionals Needed at All Levels
The shortage of nurses just continues to expand. “In coastal areas, we’re seeing 30 percent to 40 percent vacancy rates,” Hicks says.
With demand for RNs so great, why would nurses even consider going for a master’s or other advanced degree? “It means more money, more career possibilities and more job mobility,” says Barbara Krainovich-Miller, a clinical professor and coordinator of graduate education at New York University’s College of Nursing.
Workers are also in shortage at the sub-RN level. “We have a huge need for [certified nursing assistants]” and others personal care workers, Pinter says. “We face the challenge of how to attract and retain these workers when they’re willing to go down the street for another 20 cents an hour.”
