Why Geisinger hires from Philippines, Africa to fight workforce shortages

Amid a shortage of medical professionals, Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger and other health systems have begun recruiting from outside the U.S. to meet their workforce needs, according to The Daily Item.

Three things to know:

1. During the last year, Geisinger partnered with vendor management system Medefis to recruit nursing professionals from Jamaica, the Philippines, India and Africa to take part in a three-year program. The partnership has brought roughly 100 nurses into the Geisinger network thus far, according to the report.

2. One such nurse is Youlanda Knight-Powell, RN, who has more than 10 years of experience caring for patients in Jamaica. She said that hiring foreign nurses like herself may be one solution to help end the nursing shortage in the U.S.

"Nursing care is the same nursing care anywhere in the world," she told the publication. "It's the same to help a patient, to make sure they're comfortable. It's just a matter of resources and getting used to the system. We get to share ideas, view things differently."

3. April 2018 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges cited by The Daily Item indicates the U.S. may face a shortage of more than 120,000 physicians by 2030.

To access the full report, click here.

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars