In the news

The Impact of Health Information Technology And e-Health on the Future Demand For Physician Services  - In the June, 2015 edition of Health Affairs, Weiner et. al. explore how health information technology (IT) and electronic health (e-health) applications might affect the future demand for physicians. They estimate that if health IT were fully implemented in just 30% of community-based physicians’ offices, the demand for physicians would be reduced by about 4–9%. Delegation of care to nurse practitioners and physician assistants supported by health IT could reduce the future demand for physicians by 4–7%. Similarly, IT-supported delegation from specialist physicians to generalists could reduce the demand for specialists by 2–5%. The use of health IT could also help address regional shortages of physicians by potentially enabling 12% of care to be delivered remotely or asynchronously. To read more click here

 

Who Cares For Older Adults? Workforce Implications of an Aging Society  - There is a critical shortage of geriatrics-prepared health care professionals. Yet 58% of baccalaureate nursing programs have no full-time faculty certified in geriatric nursing. Only three of the nation’s 145 medical schools have geriatrics departments, and less than 10% of these require a geriatrics course. A recent article by Kovner et. al. argues that every health care worker must have some education in geriatrics and access to geriatrics care experts. To read more click here

 

Future Demand for Long Term Care Workers Will be Influenced By Demographic and Utilization Changes  - A looming question for policy makers is how growing diversity in the US elderly population and greater use of home and community-based services will affect demand for long-term care workers. A recent study by Spetz et. al. in the June, 2015 edition of Health Affairs finds that, if current trends continue, the occupations anticipated to grow the most by 2030 are counselors and social workers (94%), community and social services workers (93%), and home health and personal care aides (88%). To read more click here

In the News

SC County EMS Tries to Ease Workload of 24-Hour Shifts? - According to JEMS.com, on February 28, 2015, “Charleston County EMS schedule switch brings some praise and some grumbling. Other agencies such as Berkeley, Dorchester struggle with fatigue, weigh possible changes.”TO READ MORE click here Even in Nursing, No Equal Pay for Women - According to Reuters, on March 24, 2015, “Even though nine out of 10 nurses are women, men in the profession earn higher salaries, and the pay gap has remained constant over the past quarter century, a study finds.” TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Medicaid Patients Struggle to Get Dental Care - According to USA Today, on February 15, 2015, “’Translating Medicaid coverage into care is a significant problem,’ said David Jordan, who directs the dental access project at Community Catalyst, a national consumer advocacy group based in Boston. ‘The number of adults on Medicaid who are able to see a dentist is woefully short of where it needs to be.’” TO READ MORE click here Who is the Dental Board Serving? - According to rdhmag.com, on February 13, 2015, “Almost all dental boards in the United States develop standards of professional conduct, including continuing education requirements to maintain a high level of integrity and performance in the practice of dentistry. However, according to FTC records a number of regulating dental boards have overstepped their authority by making decisions not to "protect the public," but to protect the special interest group they represent.”TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Nurses Take on New and Expanded Roles in Health Care- According to RWFJ.org, on January 20, 2015, “Today, the venerable Boston hospital is testing out another innovation, but this time it’s in the field of nursing. When a patient arrives at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) now, he or she is assigned an attending registered nurse (ARN) for the duration of the hospital stay and after discharge. The ARN builds a relationship with the patient and his or her caregivers, and ensures that all members of the patient’s health care team follow a shared care plan. Unlike other RNs, ARNs are designed to promote continuity of care, ideally with a five-day, eight-hour work schedule.”TO READ MORE click here Grand Strand Medical Center Partners with USC Schools of Medicine to Launch Residency Program - According to MyHorryNews.com, on January 20, 2015, “Grand Strand Medical Center will soon begin offering something available in only a handful of communities. Hospital officials announced that it has entered into an affiliation agreement with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. The agreement expands clinical training for USC medical students and establishes two medical residency programs at Grand Strand Medical Center.”TO READ MORE click here Need Medical Care? Area Relies on Technical College of the Lowcountry Grads - According to Savannah Morning News, on January 25, 2015, “The Technical College of the Lowcountry’s high placement rate puts the school among the top three institutions in South Carolina’s 16-school technical college system.” TO READ MORE click here

In the News

How Nurses Can Help Low-Income Mothers and Kids - According to The Atlantic, on January 14, 2015, “The Nurse Family Partnership coaches poor first-time moms on parenting and life skills from pregnancy through the toddler years.” TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Nurse Staffing Levels and Quality of Care in Rural Nursing Homes - “The University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center has released their study of Nurse Staffing Levels and Quality of Care in Rural Nursing Homes. Their findings show that a higher percentage of Registered Nurses in the nursing staff mix was associated with better care quality in both rural hospital-based and freestanding nursing homes.” TO READ MORE click here

Proposal Seeks to Draw Medical Residents to Rural Nebraska - According to the Miami Herald on January 13, 2015, “Medical residents who work in under-served parts of Nebraska could receive up to $120,000 in loan repayments under a new bill in the Legislature... The bill would let residents receive up to $40,000 a year in reimbursement, up to a maximum of $120,000. Residents would have to be enrolled or accepted into an approved medical specialty program in Nebraska.”TO READ MORE click here

In the News

The Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis and Planning Data Brief - The Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis and Planning has released an updated Data Brief (December, 2014) illustrating the rapid growth in the number of medical school graduates in South Carolina expected in the next few years and the relatively slow growth in the number of in-state program slots available for physicians just starting their residency training. This mismatch has consequences for our ability to retain physicians educated in South Carolina.TO READ MORE click here

Lawmaker will introduce legislation to support advanced nurses - According to the Charleston Post Courier, on December 8, 2014, "We still have a shortage of primary care physicians and this will be in the best interest of the health and welfare of the citizens of South Carolina," TO READ MORE click here

In the News

When Doctors and Nurses Work Together - Taking a cue from the airline and defense industries, the leaders of the hospital safety initiative trained their physician and nursing colleagues to communicate better, resolve conflict and work in teams. They created a computerized system for individuals to report anonymously events that might have caused harm to a patient or a visitor like a medication error, a fall or the spread of infection, and a patient safety committee to track and review those cases. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Nearly One in Five New Nurses Leaves First Job within a Year, According to Survey of Newly-Licensed Registered Nurses - Turnover of registered nurses (RNs) is an important and widely used measure in analyzing the health care workforce. It’s used to project the job market for nurses (based on availability of jobs) and can also be considered an indicator of whether a health care organization has a good working environment. A study in the current issue of Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice reveals that an estimated 17.5 percent of newly-licensed RNs leave their first nursing job within the first year, and one in three (33.5%) leave within two years. The researchers found that turnover for this group is lower at hospitals than at other health care settings. TO READ MORE click here Advocates Work to Recruit Latinos to Nursing - Latinos are the most underrepresented minority in the nursing workforce—an ominous sign for the health of the country’s surging Latino population. TO READ MORE click here Why Are There So Few Doctors in Rural America? - Plenty of people from the "lower 48" have moved to Bethel for its rugged charm and unparalleled salmon fishing. But many others, the hyper-educated in particular, find the quirks of remote Alaskan life too daunting. Much of rural Alaska, like much of the rest of the rural U.S., faces a severe shortage of doctors and dentists. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

More Nursing Schools Preparing Students to Provide Team-Based Care - According to rwjf.com, on August 13, 2014, the University of Washington is one of at least four of the nation’s top nursing schools now requiring students to participate in at least one interprofessional education course or activity... that promotes interprofessional education as a way to foster collaborative practice and improve the quality and safety of care. click here Minnesota responds to rural doctor shortage with teams, training, telemedicine - According to minnpost.com, on August 11, 2014, the health-care provider landscape of Greater Minnesota is one where primary-care physicians are becoming older and fewer, while their patients also are older but growing in number, said Mark Schoenbaum, director of the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Rural Health and Primary Care. Medical schools, health-care systems and legislators alike know of the problems and are doing their best to solve them.TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Physical Work Environment in Hospitals Affects Nurses’ Job Satisfaction, With Implications for Patient Outcomes, Health Care Costs - According to rwjf.com, on July 17, 2014, job satisfaction is an important predictor of registered nurses’ (RNs) job turnover, patient satisfaction, and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes (including pressure ulcers and falls), which can result in higher health care costs and penalties for hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments. Numerous studies have been conducted to assess nurses’ job satisfaction, asking about nurse-physician relationships, opportunities for promotion, autonomy, and similar issues, but very few have addressed the impact of the physical work environment on RNs’ job satisfaction.TO READ MORE click here Twenty Accomplished Nurses from Across Country Selected for Prestigious National Nurse Fellowship Program - According to rwjf.com, on July 30, 2014, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced the 20 nurses from across the United States [including two from MUSC] who have been selected as RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows for 2014, the program’s last cohort. This diverse group will participate in a three-year, world-class leadership development program that is enhancing the effectiveness of nurse leaders who are working to improve the nation’s health care system. TO READ MORE click here An Unexpected Growth in the Nursing Workforce - According to rwjf.org, on August 8, 2014, More registered nurses (RNs) are delaying retirement, a phenomenon that is contributing to a larger-than-expected supply of nurses, according to a new study in Health Affairs.TO READ MOREclick here

In the News

College of Nursing receives grant to prepare PhD nurses - According to moultrienews.com, on July 22, The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Nursing is one of only 14 schools of nursing nationwide to be among the first to receive a grant from a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) program to increase the number of nurses holding a PhD degree. As an inaugural grantee of the Future of Nursing Scholars program, the MUSC College of Nursing will select one student to receive financial support, mentoring and leadership development over the three years of his or her PhD program.TO READ MORE click here

The Drawn-Out Medical Degree - According to nytimes.com, on August 1, should medical education be shorter? The answer is yes, at least according to administrators at many of America’s leading medical schools.”TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Part of the Solution: Pre-Baccalaureate Healthcare Workers in a Time of Health System Change - According to brookings.edu, on July 24, 2014, healthcare occupations account for a large and growing share of the workforce and span the education and earnings continuum. Although many discussions of the healthcare workforce focus on doctors and other occupations requiring advanced degrees, the healthcare system would not function without pre-baccalaureate workers—those with less than a bachelor’s degree. TO READ MORE click here Health care jobs lift less-educated workers - According to usatoday.com, on July 24, 2014, the boom in health care jobs is skewed toward positions requiring less education and providing lower-paid workers a potential pathway to better careers.TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Nurses Lead Innovations in Geriatrics and Gerontology- According to rwjf.org, on July 11, 2014, nurse-led initiatives are intended to help the nation’s health care system prepare for a crush of elderly people with multiple chronic conditions.TO READ MORE click here Bottlenecks in Training Doctors - According to nytimes.com, on July 19, 2014, experts disagree over how bad the current shortages are. But virtually all agree that the problem is acute in rural areas and in poor urban neighborhoods. As of June 19, according to one estimate cited by analysts in the Department of Health and Human Services, there was a shortage of 16,000 primary care physicians in such underserved areas.TO READ MORE* click here Nurses Shift, Aiming for More Time with Patients - According to the Wall Street Journal, on July 21, 2014, hospitals hope extra face time and personal attention will help make recovery easier. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

More Newly Licensed Nurse Practitioners Choosing to Work in Primary Care, Federal Study Finds - According to rwjf.org, on June 10, 2014, for more than a decade, the percentage of newly licensed nurse practitioners who chose to work in primary care was on the decline. But that trend is changing, according to a survey released last month by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA. TO READ MORE click here Schumer: Plan Will Help Recruit More Rural Doctors - According to Olean Times Herald on June 5, 2014, Legislation that U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says will address a growing shortage of primary care doctors in Upstate New York is being called a big step in the right direction. The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act will increase the number of Medicare-supported physician training slots by 15,000 nationwide over the next few years, placing emphasis on giving those slots to hospitals that serve rural areas suffering from doctor shortages.TO READ MOREclick here GHS to Require B.S. Degrees for Nurses - According to GreenvilleOnline.com on June 28, 2014, Greenville Health System will begin requiring Bachelor of Science degrees for some of its nurses beginning next month because health care delivery is getting more complex. Research shows that having more nurses with bachelor’s degrees leads to better patient outcomes, officials said, noting that the Institute of Medicine recommends that 80 percent of nurses should have a bachelor’s degree by 2020. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

In the News

Addressing the Nation’s Physician Workforce Needs: The Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Recommendations on Graduate Medical Education Reform - According to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, in April 2014, recommendations are given on how to reform the Graduate Medical Education (GME) system to support the development of a physician workforce that aligns with the unique needs of America’s healthcare delivery system.TO READ MORE click here Sharp Increases in the Clinician Pipeline: Opportunity and Danger - According to Health Affairs Blog, on June 9, 2014, Ed Salsberg of the George Washington University, in his latest Health Affairs blog, points out that the recent rapid increase in the pipeline for clinicians in 4 professions (NPs, PAs, pharmacists and RNs) is likely to help meet short term needs but continued growth could lead to an overshoot and surpluses in the longer term which also have serious negative consequences.TO READ MORE click here

In the News

The 2014 GME Residency Match Results: Is There Really a “GME Squeeze”? - A recent blog by Ed Salsberg, past director of the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, takes a look at the question of a GME ‘squeeze’ from a national perspective.TO READ MORE click here Graham Center Projects Increase in Physicians Working in Shortage Areas - According to aafp.org, on Apr 23, 2014, AAFP's Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care recently published a policy brief that looked at the projected impact of the Primary Care Residency Expansion program on the number and distribution of new primary care physicians. One major take-away from the study was that family medicine residency programs represented the highest return on investment in terms of turning out primary care physicians who would likely work in health professional shortage areas or rural areas. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Despite sluggish hospital hiring, healthcare reports job growth - According to Modern Healthcare, on May 2, healthcare continued to add jobs last month, but the industry's employment growth occurred largely outside of hospitals, which until recently were a steady source of payroll gains. TO READ MORE click here Nursing Job Outlook Sunny as Experts Project Need for More Than One Million New Nurses by 2022 - According to RWJF.org, on May 19, more than half a million positions for registered nurses (RNs) are projected to open up between 2012 and 2022, according to data released in January by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). TO READ MORE click here State Variability in Supply of Office-based Primary Care Providers: United States 2012 - According to NCHS Data Brief, May 2014, this report presents state estimates of the supply of primary care physicians per capita, as well as the availability of physician assistants or nurse practitioners in primary care physicians’ practices. Estimates are based on data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), Electronic Health Records (EHR) Survey, a nationally representative survey of office-based physicians. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Expanding Nursing Assistant Responsibilities Could Save $400M - According to FierceHealthcare, on April 14, public hospitals could save almost $430 million a year by expanding responsibilities for nursing assistants, allied health assistants and registered nurses, according to a new report.TO READ MORE click here Experienced Nurses Shorten Length of Stay, Improve Patient Outcomes - According to FierceHealthcare, on April 15, more experienced nurses deliver better patient care and shorten length of stay, according to a study published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. TO READ MORE click here Look Beyond Nurse-Patient Ratios - According to HealthLeaders Media, on April 16, nurses who advocate for patient safety often cite nurse staffing ratios as a top concern. Evidence suggests more education for nurses, not a mandated, one-size-fits-all approach to staffing, is a better way forward. TO READ MORE click here

In the News

Pharmacists Increasingly Take on Clinical Roles - According to kaiserhealthnews.org, on February 11, once limited to filling and dispensing drugs, pharmacists are increasingly providing direct care to patients. Across the country, they are working with doctors to give immunizations and help patients safely manage medications. In some places, they can even write prescriptions after a physician's diagnosis.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

Apprehensive, Many Doctors Shift to Jobs with Salaries - According to the New York Times, on February 13, American physicians are worried about changes in the health care market and are streaming to salaried jobs with hospitals.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

In the News

More Residents Choose Family Medicine, but Gaps Remain in Primary Care Workforce - According to AMA Wire, on January 15, despite a higher number of family medicine residency positions and more medical school graduates choosing family medicine careers in 2013, recent boosts still will fall short of increasing the primary care workforce. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE The Four Pillars for Primary Care Physician Workforce Reform: A Blue Print for Future Activity - According to annfammed.org, in January 2014, the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM), representing the family medicine academic organizations, has adopted the “Four Pillars for Primary Care Physician Workforce” as a succinct model to identify necessary conditions to ensure the needed growth in the number of primary care physicians. TO READ MORECLICK HERE Experienced Nurses Are Less Expensive Than You Think - According to HealthLeaders Media, on January 8, health care leaders now have data to back up what many already know: more clinical nursing experience means better pediatric patient outcomes.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE