The problem of the lack of qualified medical personnel has been relevant in the last decade. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the American health care system faced increasing life expectancy and, as a result, more extended care for the elderly. In addition, the new generation is more likely to seek help from doctors, and quite often with a narrow specialty (Galvani et al., 2020). While this problem is partly addressed by the increasing desire of physicians to pursue a narrow specialization, on the other hand, there is a shortage in primary, health care, and family medicine (Flaherty & Bartels, 2019). The relative indicators of the shortage of doctors per capita differ regionally, but the problem is gradually acquiring a nationwide scale.
First, the US health care system was not ready for the influx of patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of experience in emergencies and congested hospitals has left many patients without treatment. In addition, the virus turned out to be unexplored and new, which required not only the United States, but the entire world to urgently invent a vaccine, also employing qualified specialists and exacerbating the shortage. Since in the United States there are particular problems with personnel providing first aid and general internal medicine, the health care system did not meet the consequences of the epidemic at the proper level, which led to many deaths.
Second, in addition to the shortage of doctors, America has an acute shortage of nurses. This problem can be solved in two ways. The first method implies an increase in budgetary educational places, and an expansion of the plan in education. The shortage of personnel is eradicated at all levels of nursing degrees. A second solution to the problem is the practice of traveling nurses who help close temporary staffing gaps in areas of greatest need in this area (Spurlock Jr, 2020). The shortage also extends to related and collaborative areas of medicine, such as forensic medicine, where the solving of crimes is significantly slowed down.
Nursing education is not unique and extends to the entire field of medicine down to each specialization. Even though more and more people wish to receive nursing education, the regions cannot provide teachers for the increased demand. In part, the process is slowed down by the complex procedure for obtaining a certificate of a teacher-nurse, which allows private training of new specialists. System recovery is required at every stage of nursing education.
In addition, the number of midwives in the United States is also not close to the required number. The infant mortality rate in the United States is higher than in other developed countries (Marzalik et al., 2018). For the most part, this indicator is influenced by the lack of personnel who can follow the woman in labor, provide her with all the necessary care, and reduce morbidity or mortality risks for both the mother and the child.
The way out of this problem lies in the joint efforts of US citizens and the health care system. Preventive measures and health education will enable people to prevent many diseases. Engaging primary care nurses can help reduce the burden on qualified doctors when a patient needs simple enough help—supporting human resource management initiatives in the health sector and educating and training new personnel. The use of modern technologies can give an impetus to the development of telemedicine, which will significantly reduce the burden on doctors and nurses when the full-time presence of the patient is not required and does not expose the doctor to the risk of infection. Online technologies can also be used to train new nurses without excluding traditional methods and practices. Finally, allowing medical staff to participate in political decisions will help bring an objective perspective from the first instance. In the face of the current pandemic, action must be taken now, as labor shortages have severely negative consequences for the US health care system.
References
Flaherty, E., & Bartels, S. J. (2019). Addressing the community‐based geriatric healthcare workforce shortage by leveraging the potential of interprofessional teams. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(S2), S400-S408.
Galvani, A. P., Parpia, A. S., Pandey, A., Zimmer, C., Kahn, J. G., & Fitzpatrick, M. C. (2020). The imperative for universal healthcare to curtail the COVID-19 outbreak in the USA. EClinicalMedicine, 23.
Marzalik, P. R., Feltham, K. J., Jefferson, K., & Pekin, K. (2018). Midwifery education in the US-Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife. Midwifery, 60, 9-12.
Spurlock Jr, D. (2020). The nursing shortage and the future of nursing education is in our hands. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(6).