Healthcare Human Resources Management: State of Physician Labor in California

Human resource management is the most important aspect of any firm.

The Human Resources department is in charge of ensuring that an organization’s complete workforce is effective in its duties. They accomplish this by employing qualified personnel and ensuring that all activities within the organization run smoothly. Furthermore, human resources create an enabling atmosphere in which employees have access to all necessary resources. However, the effectiveness of this department is totally dependent on how it handles organizational dynamics. Employees leaving for brighter pastures or other reasons characterize any organization. There the human resource office must employ the best approaches when dealing with such cases. There about the health sector, this analysis outlines the state of physician labor regarding trends and other necessary issues surrounding the profession.

State of Physician Labor in California

California is one of the biggest states in the United States accommodating a large population of people from different parts of the world. The status makes the state to be one of the one’s that demand a high number of qualified physicians (Sargen, Hooker, & Cooper, 2009). Moreover, it is also a business opportunity for most people considering a large number of upper-class people living in some parts of California. In the recent years, the number of physicians in the state has grown tremendously as compared to the overall population. There are expectations that the demand for physicians will rise because of more people accessing medical cover and a high number of the senior population (USA - California - health information technology: California leads the nation but still has far to go, 2008). However, most practitioners do not accept insurance covers, and the situation makes it hard for people to receive medical attention. Moreover, the demands status of the state had made it hard to supply enough physicians. To solve the situation, the state sources physicians from out of state medical schools and foreign countries.

Cardiologists in California and the US at Large

Cardiologists are vital to the human population especially people aged above sixty years. Every hospital must have a cardiology unit which facilitates treatment of patients with cardiac complications. The last survey conducted in 2009 indicated that in California, the least number of medical practitioners were cardiologists with a very high margin compared to other fields of health. However, with a continuous rise in the number of physicians, cardiologists are also expected to increase but not to meet the patient level. Thirty percent of physicians are aged above sixty years implying that they are on their way to retiring. Moreover, the population in the state continues to grow with many of the people above sixty years. Since the aged are the ones likely to experience cardiac complications, it implies that with many cardiologists retiring, a shortage of them is expected in the coming years.

In the recent years, it is only California that has received an influx of physicians, unlike other states which are trying to solve the situation. High salaries and opportunities to venture into private practice have made many of them move to California (Hernandez, 2009). Nationally, the number of cardiologists is still very low which has made access to these services to become tough. Despite the government trying to come in to solve the situation, it might not bring enough cardiologists into the health profession because few students are recruited to major in the profession (Helland & Seabury, 2015). Long term planning through encouraging more students into the profession is the only way that can help improve the situation. If not, with many cardiologists above sixty years, the number of cardiologists is expected to drop and worsen the situation.

Conclusion

The state of physician labor in the United States can be described as wanting. From the statistical evidence, it is affirmed that the ratio of physicians to patients is not balanced. Moreover, it is observed that most physicians are old and headed to retirement. Moreover, the majority of physicians are moving into private practice because they see better opportunities. All these issues have contributed to the status of physicians in the United States, and there is a likelihood of things getting worse.

References

Helland, E., & Seabury, S. A. (2015). Tort reform and physician labor supply: A review of the evidence. International Review of Law and Economics, 42, 192-202.

Hernandez, S. R. (2009). Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations, 3e, 3rd Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/1133140998

Sargen, M., Hooker, R. S., & Cooper, R. A. (2011). Gaps in the supply of physicians, advance practice nurses, and physician assistants. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 212(6), 991-999. Retrieved from http://europepmc.org/LabsLink;jsessionid=3338048F643E2513D4E949A132001DEB

USA - California - health information technology: California leads the nation but still has far to go. (2008). International Journal Of Health Care Quality Assurance, 21(3). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2008.06221cab.010