Special Report
Health Care Workforce Analysis
Overview
The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Office of Economic
Advisors (OEA) are working with partners, namely the Wisconsin Health Workforce
Data Collaborative (WHWDC), to take proactive steps toward identifying and
alleviating future shortages in health care occupations. Ongoing projects
include registered nurse forecasting and analysis of physician/physician assistant survey.
Wisconsin's overall labor force supply growth is expected to flatten as
baby boomers begin to retire (Winters et al.,2009).
The aging population will also cause relatively rapid growth in demand for
health care professionals.
Health
care workforce analysis is essential for two reasons. First, health care is
expected to be one of the states fastest growing industries in terms of job
growth. Analysis is needed to match Wisconsin's
future workforce with future job openings. Second, maintaining a strong health
care system helps make Wisconsin an attractive location for businesses to expand, relocate,
and attract
qualified professionals in all occupations.
RN Forecasting
OEA expanded and improved an existing
forecasting tool as part of the Wisconsin Health Workforce Data Collaborative
group's response to the Growing Wisconsin Health Workforce Crisis. The forecasting
models project the supply and demand of registered nurses through 2035 in five
year increments, and users can challenge the assumptions behind forecasts to examine
alternative workforce scenarios by changing supply or demand factors in any
combination.
Nurse Forecasting Reports and Presentations
Physician and Physician Assistant Workforce Analysis
OEA is working with the Wisconsin Area
Health Education Center (AHEC) to analyze the results of of
physician and physician assistant workforce surveys. The main goals
of the project are to provide valuable workforce data and to examine
the future supply and demand for professionals. Medical Doctors
(MDs), Doctors of Osteopathy (DOs), and Physician Assistants (PAs)
were asked to respond to a voluntary survey during the 2011/2012
license renewal period. The combine response rates of MDs and
DOs was about 30%, while 44% of Wisconsin's licensed PAs responded to the
survey.
The project builds upon OEA's work on registered
nurse (RN) forecasting and is part of continued efforts to take proactive
steps toward alleviating health care workforce shortages. The projects is funded by a State Health Care Workforce Development (SHCWD)
grant. Nancy Sugden, Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs, UWSMPH, serves as the
grant's principal investigator.
Physician and PA Reports and Presentations
For more information on the Registered Nurse Forecasting project contact Tom Walsh or call
(715) 261-8747
Related Resources
