MHA Press Room

More annual Match Day students choose primary care residencies

More medical school seniors are choosing residencies in primary care, according to results released March 15 from the National Resident Matching Program. The number of U.S. students choosing primary care – internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics – rose by almost 400 during this year’s annual Match Day.

A total of 17,487 graduating seniors participated in the event, the largest to date with more than 40,000 registrants, including 1,000 more seniors from the U.S. “We attribute the rising number of U.S. students to three new medical schools graduating their first classes as well as enrollment expansions in existing medical schools,” said NRMP Executive Director Mona Signer.

The total number of positions offered in the Match was 29,171, an increase of 2,399 over last year and an all-time high. “The significant increase in positions was due to a change in NRMP policy that requires Match-participating programs to register and attempt to fill all positions in The Match,” Signer said.

Hospital Employment by Occupation

Ever wonder about the types of workers employed by hospitals? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the number of employees by occupation that work in various industry sectors. Using the BLS’ Occupational Employment Statistics Query System, you can learn that hospitals employed the following numbers nationwide as of May 2011.

Study: 52,000 New Primary Care Docs Needed by 2025

Roughly 52,000 new primary care physicians will be needed by 2025 to keep up with an aging, growing population with increased access to health insurance, a new study published this week in the Annals of Family Medicine projects. 

Medical school enrollment climbs 1.5%

First-time enrollments at U.S. medical schools grew 1.5% in 2012 to a record 19,517 students, the Association of American Medical Colleges announced Oct.23. Applications to U.S. medical schools rose by 3.1% to 45,266. All major racial and ethnic groups saw increases in applicants and enrollees.

“Given the urgent need our nation has for more doctors to care for our growing and aging population, we are extremely pleased with the continued growth in size and diversity of this year’s entering class of medical students,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell Kirch, M.D. “…But we are nearing a critical deficit of residency training positions. Without support from Congress to lift the 15-year cap on residency training, some future M.D.s may not be able to complete their education and care for patients.”

The American Hospital Association continues to recommend that the cap be lifted to create at least 15,000 new resident positions, as included in the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2011 (S. 1627).

Report: Health care job growth near 10-year high

Health care employment rose by 44,000 jobs in September, the second highest gain in a decade and well above the 24-month average of 25,000, according to the latest economic indicators from Altarum Institute's Center for Sustainable Health Spending. Hospitals added the largest number of jobs over the 12-month period (81,600).

“Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the health sector has added 1.3 million jobs for a cumulative growth of 10.1%, while non-health employment has fallen by 5.8 million jobs for a cumulative decline of 4.7%,” the report notes.

National health spending grew by 3.8% between August 2011 and August 2012, the same rate observed in July and less than the 4.5% average growth rate for first-quarter 2012, the Center reports. Spending on hospital care grew 4.8% over the 12-month period.

Physician Supply: About 1 doctor per 1,000 population

Each year, the National Center for Health Statistics takes a survey of nonfederal physicians in office-based practice called the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. This sample survey results in estimates of the number of practicing physicians, which are reported as counts of physicians per population. Here are some interesting national figures for the period 2009-2010.

New report finds that potential Medicare cuts could lead to more than 8,000 jobs lost in Mississippi

A new report found that over 8,000 health care and related jobs could be lost in Mississippi by 2021 as a result of the 2 percent sequester of Medicare spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Nationally, more than 766,000 jobs would be lost according to the report released today by the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) at a press conference in Washington, DC.

The report, produced by Tripp Umbach, a firm specializing in conducting economic impact studies, measures the anticipated effect of these cuts in Medicare payments on health care providers and other industries. The Tripp Umbach model reflects how reductions in Medicare payment for health care services will lead to direct job losses in the health care sector, reduced purchases by health care entities of goods and services from other businesses which in turn will lay-off workers, and reduced household purchases by workers who lose their jobs. As the impact of these cuts ripples through the economy, jobs will be lost across many sectors beyond health care.

This model estimates that, during the first year of the sequester, more than 496,000 jobs will be lost. The report found that the job losses will affect many economic sectors beyond health care.

The health care sector has long been an economic mainstay providing stability and growth even during times of recession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that health care created 169,800 jobs in the first half of 2012 and accounted for one out of every 5 new jobs created this year.

In Mississippi, more than 60,000 people work in hospitals, which provide a statewide economic impact of $11.9 billion.

Tripp Umbach designed a customized model based on the national economic impact models developed by MIG IMPLAN, as well as previous impact studies.

The Tripp Umbach report is available below as a PDF.

Download 12sep-bcaeconimpact (1)

5.6 million more healthcare workers needed in US by 2020

The U.S. will need 5.6 million more healthcare workers by 2020 -- 4.6 million of them with advanced degrees -- according to a new healthcare workforce report from Georgetown University. Other noteworthy findings from the report include:

• Healthcare represents 18% of the U.S. economy, twice that of other countries 
• There are two healthcare labor markets – one for high-skill, high-wage professionals and another for low-skill, low-wage support jobs 
• Over a quarter of healthcare jobs need graduate degrees 
• Healthcare has the largest proportion of foreign-born and foreign-trained workers in the nation – now 22%, but down from 30% in the 1990s 
• The net effect of health reform on healthcare jobs is insignificant 
• Healthcare professionals earn very good wages, and while healthcare support jobs are low-paying, they are often better than alternative jobs with similar skill and training levels 
• Worker shortages do not exist nationwide, but rural areas and certain specialties are affected 
• RNs are fast becoming upskilled, with a greater proportion of them having bachelor or advance degrees 
• 11% of the RN workforce are now in management and administration

Source: Carnevale AP and others. Healthcare. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2012.  

Related resource: Health Workforce Information Center 

Posted by the AHA Resource Center

Study: U.S. will need 5.6 million more health care workers by 2020

Demand for health care services will grow twice as fast as the economy over the next eight years, creating 5.6 million new jobs in health care occupations, according to new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. The report looks at projected demand for health care workers by occupational group, educational requirements and other factors.

The center also released a report on health care job growth by state. Both reports can be found at https://cew.georgetown.edu/healthcare.

Report: Health sector job growth 'bright spot' in economy

Private-sector health care employment grew by 33,000 jobs in May to a record 10.8% share of total employment, according to report released June 1 by the Altarum Institute Center for Sustainable Health Spending. Over the past 12 months, health care employment grew by 2.4%, twice the rate of non-health employment, with hospitals adding the largest number of jobs (92,900), the report adds.

"Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the health sector has added 1.2 million jobs for a cumulative growth of 9.5%, while non-health employment has fallen by 6.2 million jobs for a cumulative decline of 5.0%," the report states.