How Can We Solve the World Healthcare Shortage?

As you may know, the world is currently experiencing a shortage of doctors and nurses, and the situation is only expected to worsen over the next 5-10 years. Healthcare is an incredibly fast-growing industry overall, creating more jobs than technology and any other major employment sector. As such, it’s always been difficult to keep up with the ever-growing demand for healthcare providers and practitioners. While developed countries are being hit hard by the shortage, the effect is even more impactful in developing nations. The solution won’t come easy, but it will need to involve a multi-faceted approach that covers the following bases:

It All Starts with Education

When devising potential solutions for the world’s healthcare shortage, it’s easy to look for answers in the medical field. However, the problem is more so rooted in academia. In the simplest terms, students need to be encouraged to earn healthcare degrees more often. There needs to be more collaborations between healthcare companies and educational organizations in order to promote jobs and certifications in this sector. Additionally, career advancement paths need to be encouraged. For example, the option for a registered nurse to pursue an online RN to BSN program should be highlighted and suggested within the boundaries of workplaces and universities.

Training Millions of Nurses and Medical Coders in a Few Years’ Time

As of 2017, only 1 in 10 metropolitan jobs were supplied by the healthcare industry. By 2026, that figure will have risen to 1 in 3. More specifically, the industry will need to train almost 1.5 million new coders and 1.6 million new healthcare workers every three years to meet the projected demand for nurses and medical coders. With so many job positions and specializations to choose from within the scope of healthcare, attracting a sufficient number of students in each category could prove to be a real challenge.

Surpassing Educational Technology Hurdles

Educational technology, also known as EdTech, will play a pivotal role in helping to address the ongoing global healthcare shortage. The problem is, there are very stringent rules about how curriculum and information is passed onto medical students. These strict compliance requirements can prevent new EdTech tools from reaching students because of all the red tape involved. The current system needs to be revamped to allow for more innovation in EdTech. Software and digital tools have the ability to drastically simplify and gamify the learning process to increase the number of students who successfully graduate and go on to become registered nurses or licensed physicians.

The Entire Healthcare System Needs to Become More Appealing

Let’s face it, one of the main reasons for the shortage of doctors and nurses is that there aren’t enough students who are interested in taking this career path. Regulatory authorities, healthcare providers, and educational institutions need to take a long, hard look at the healthcare industry and why it isn’t resonating with enough young people. All logistics and statistics aside, we need more students to take an interest in healthcare. How do you make being a nurse or doctor more exciting and rewarding enough to incentivize the next generation of degree earners? The answer to thatquestion will solve the world’s healthcare shortage.