The U.S Healthcare workforce is the largest employer in the United States. In California, it supplies 15% of the population with work. By 2036, physicians are expected to shrink by 86,000. By 2030, shortages of educated workers are expected to increase by 1.3 million people and 4 million nurses are expected to quit. Access to healthcare depends on having a stable workforce. Shortages of any degree impact hospitals, health education, and public health systems.

It is becoming increasingly hard to obtain a license and begin to enter the healthcare field. Students may graduate from college with perfect GPAs and continue on to top medical schools, yet still struggle to secure a residency. The process of becoming a licensed practitioner is extremely complex and taxing, which discourages many students from pursuing it. An issue that has revealed itself more recently is the use of Artificial Intelligence when screening medical applications. AI is often programmed to prioritize candidates with qualifications and prior experience, which leads to it automatically eliminating applicants who lack experience. New graduates, by definition, do not have this experience, making it nearly impossible for them to break into the field. This contributes to ongoing shortages and makes it harder for qualified, hardworking individuals to find employment.

Struggles with obtaining and maintaining a license are especially evident in the nursing profession, where qualified nurses are constantly turned away from jobs and nursing school capacity is limited. One of the substantial groups leaving the field is nursing assistants. This is largely because they are overloaded with patients and tasks. They often care for more patients than they are legally supposed to have, many of whom are seriously ill or extremely violent. When assistants ask nurses or doctors for help, they frequently don’t receive it because the nurses are already overwhelmed with their own patients. As a result, nursing assistants take on far more responsibility than they are compensated for or capable of handling. Even though they deal with an overwhelming amount of responsibility, nursing assistants are paid only about one-third of what a professional nurse earns and are dismissed as “not a real profession” by the government, despite the training and education required. Nurses also spend significant time negotiating with Medicare and Medicaid rather than providing care, often just to secure relatively small payments. Despite all of this, they are frequently blamed for being fatigued, lazy, or inconsiderate, even though they are working under extremely difficult conditions.

There are a wide range of reasons why the healthcare workforce is declining, including racism, geographic inequalities, and classism. People who live in rural areas have less access to urgent care because ambulances and helicopters take much longer to reach them, and there is often not enough funding to place medical resources closer to these communities. Ambulances were once free as part of police and fire services, but the system has become largely privatized and can cost patients over $10,000. This also reflects economic inequality, as poorer populations often live in less urban areas. Racism is another persistent issue in the healthcare workforce. Physicians of color often struggle to find employment and face discrimination based on their race. A 2024 study that reviewed more than 83,000 applications found that applicants with white-sounding names received up to 24% more callbacks. Immigration and student debt policies also play a major role in shaping who applies to medical school and who pursues careers in nursing. Many immigrants are not only afraid to work in the healthcare system but also hesitant to seek care as patients. They may avoid clinics, even those specifically meant to serve them, out of fear or because they are denied coverage. As a result of this under representation, the demographics of patients are often not reflected in the workforce. Greater diversity in healthcare is essential, as it improves trust between patients and providers and leads to better health outcomes.

In order to properly treat a patient, a medical professional needs time, trust, and communication. However, because the healthcare workforce is stretched thin and employees are overworked, time is often unavailable. A lack of diversity and representation can also reduce trust between patients and providers, which leads to less effective communication. Health literacy rates are declining, and staff retention is becoming a major policy concern. The workplace stress and administrative burden that come with working in healthcare create a harmful feedback loop that worsens these problems. To begin addressing these issues, the workforce must focus on policy solutions such as expanding healthcare education programs, offering loan repayment initiatives, and supporting community health worker programs.“Healthcare is trying to figure out ‘how can we twist every penny out of every person’, when healthcare should be a right”

–Sharon Goldfarb