Sustaining the Physician Pipeline: Meeting the Demand for Physicians with Strategic Solutions
Learn how medical education institutions can rise to the challenge in the eBook, Reshaping Medical Education in a Post-Pandemic World. Dive deep into the resident pipeline and student engagement, and how strategic interventions are being used to support learners while improving patient care.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a seismic shift in the healthcare industry, creating an incomparable level of strain on both the medical education system and its constituents, including medical students, trainees, and physicians.
With the suspension of elective surgeries and procedures, there was a scarcity of procedural experiences and exposure to other disciplines of medicine, in addition to disruptions in clinical rotations. Further, institutions with limited or no wellness programming were unprepared to address the overwhelming impacts of burnout and the demand for wellness support.
The industry as a whole has been challenged to find a solution to sustaining the physician pipeline, all while our aging population’s need for medical services continues to grow.
Quality of Life Concerns
It is no surprise that current and future healthcare workers have concerns about the short- and long-term effects of burnout in their careers and on their overall quality of life. Individuals at all levels sought relief from extreme stress. Those who could retire exited the industry, while others found alternative positions that offered better work and living environments.
Approximately 100,000 nurses are estimated to have left the field specifically due to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. They estimate that an additional 610,288 experienced registered nurses plan to leave the workforce by 2027 because of stress.
Current Workforce Retention
The impact extends beyond nurses. Institutions are confronting the enormously challenging circumstances of finding new residents, making it harder for the institution to maintain efficient operations and provide adequate patient care to meet the growing demand. There is an opportunity to attract and retain top talent by providing competitive compensation and adequate work support for resident physicians.
The current industry-wide trend shows 50% or more of doctors, nurses, and medical students report burnout. As the healthcare workforce shrinks because of environmental stressors, the need for well-prepared, competent residents is more pressing than ever. Physicians are on the front lines of patient care and play a critical role in maintaining the health of our communities.
Increasing Demand for Medical Services
As the pipeline for future physicians is dwindling, the number of people who are getting sick is rising and their illnesses are becoming more complex. Many people deferred medical treatment for non-emergency health issues during the pandemic, which worsened existing conditions or allowed undiagnosed illnesses to escalate.
Additionally, as preventative care appointments and general procedures returned to pre-pandemic volumes, patients were identifying mental health concerns with their physicians with a notable year-over-year increase in those concerns. Due to these impacts requiring more attentive care, our healthcare workers often needed to spend more time with each patient, and now, more than ever, there is a demand for protecting their own mental health and building resiliency.
Creating a Sustainable Physician Pipeline
With burnout in medical students and residents rising as well as intent to leave from practicing physicians, there is a strong call to act. Advocates are urging for innovative approaches to identify and address burnout and resident readiness. Tasks and responsibilities cannot simply be shifted from one segment of healthcare workers to another.
Within the undergraduate and graduate medical education fields, there is massive potential to automate or streamline existing processes, leverage solutions that identify struggling students earlier, and utilize platforms that can reduce administrative burden across a medical education institution. Students, residents, physicians, and medical education leaders can partner with governing bodies to identify, implement, and evaluate strategic solutions that will better sustain the physician pipeline.
Improving Resident Readiness
Organizations like the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) have been working closely together to improve the transition from undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME). This includes addressing the educational handoff between preclinical and clinical environments and moving curricula to a more longitudinal competency-based assessment. Leaders in medical education have been implementing new policies and initiatives to support residents and ensure they are well-prepared for their roles.
One instance includes the recent program launch by ACGME called the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER), a program aiming to evaluate the learning environment for residents while congruently prioritizing the delivery of high-quality patient care in both standards and practice. The ACGME also changed residency training requirements to address the pandemic’s impact on medical education, such as allowing for more flexibility in clinical rotations and remote learning. By implementing new policies and initiatives to support residents and address the unique challenges of the pandemic, these governing bodies are helping to ensure that our healthcare system remains strong and resilient in the face of ongoing challenges. UME and GME institutions will also need to adapt innovative solutions to help future-proof the physician pipeline.
Rising to the Challenge: Creating a Sustainable Physician Pipeline
Learn how medical education institutions can rise to the challenge in the eBook, Reshaping Medical Education in a Post-Pandemic World. Dive deep into the resident pipeline and student engagement, and how strategic interventions are being used to support learners while improving patient care.
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