Nurse practitioners are the fastest-growing healthcare occupation in the country. They are also one of the hardest to hire, according to health system chief human resources officers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released projections of the 30 fastest-growing occupations through 2035. Nurse practitioners ranked No. 1, while 19 of the 30 jobs were in healthcare.
Becker’s connected with health system CHROs to discuss which of the top 10 fastest-growing healthcare roles are most difficult to recruit for right now and what they are changing to win that talent.
At Tucson, Ariz.-based TMC Health, nurse practitioners — the No. 1 fastest-growing healthcare role — top the list of hardest-to-fill positions, particularly in highly specialized areas such as neonatal and acute care nurse practitioners, CHRO Alex Horvath said.
“Demand continues to outpace the available supply, and candidates with the right clinical experience are often weighing multiple opportunities,” he said.
Mr. Horvath said TMC Health has responded by going further upstream in the pipeline: partnering with Arizona-based academic programs, building relationships with students before graduation, tracking anticipated graduation dates to plan earlier and using predictive modeling to align leaders around future openings before a vacancy materializes.
San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, N.M., faces similar pressure building the nursing pipeline. CHRO Neil Teatsorth said the medical center has established agreements with three regional colleges under which nursing students receive financial support in exchange for a commitment to work at San Juan Regional after graduation and licensure.
Nursing management roles — which ranked as the second fastest-growing healthcare role as medical and health services managers — represent a shared pressure point for both organizations. Mr. Horvath also pointed to the clinic manager role and described the stakes of getting those hires right. He said nursing and clinic managers are not simply administrators — they are leaders who “can support front-line teams, navigate change, develop talent, and keep care moving in a complex environment.”
So far in 2026, TMC Health has filled 12 nursing manager roles externally and 16 internally, relocating only two managers. Mr. Horvath said the numbers reinforce two priorities: the local market is an important talent source and the internal pipeline is essential. The health system has intensified succession planning, identifying high-potential employees earlier and building future leaders from within rather than waiting for vacancies to trigger a search.
At San Juan Regional, Mr. Teatsorth is piloting a different approach to the management pipeline: hiring operations managers from outside healthcare — candidates without nursing degrees — to run inpatient operations. The medical center also runs a front-line leadership program for RNs interested in entering management.
Physician assistants — which ranked seventh among healthcare jobs — present a different challenge than nurse practitioners at TMC Health, Mr. Horvath said. The supply of new PA graduates has improved, but experienced candidates who can step directly into complex care environments remain difficult to secure.
“Our strategy cannot rely only on posting roles when they open,” Mr. Horvath said. “We have to be more intentional about early outreach, clinical partnerships, leader involvement in recruiting, and retention of advanced practice providers once they join the organization.”
Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, N.J., has concentrated on what happens once a candidate enters the process.
“The market for advanced practice providers remains highly competitive,” CHRO June-Ann Garafano said. “To win that talent, we’ve invested in a responsive, candidate-centered recruitment process built on quick follow-up, transparency, and concierge-style service at every step.”
Ms. Garafano said the organization’s hiring leaders and department chiefs play a critical role in closing candidates.
“Candidates see firsthand the culture and environment our recruiters describe, so every conversation reinforces the last,” she said. “Our goal is simple: create an experience that reflects the same level of care we provide our patients every day.”
Mr. Teatsorth noted additional roles outside the fastest-growing list that are under pressure at San Juan Regional: imaging technicians, flight nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The medical center is creating fellowship programs for those roles and working with a local college to expand training capacity. Mr. Teatsorth said San Juan Regional also promotes New Mexico’s Universal Childcare and Free College Tuition programs as a recruiting tool to attract healthcare professionals from other states.
Both Mr. Horvath and Mr. Teatsorth framed their approaches as long-term operating disciplines rather than responses to open requisitions.
“Organizations with the greatest success in competing for these fast-growing roles will be those that treat workforce planning as an ongoing discipline — not a reactive recruiting process,” Mr. Horvath said.
