eprintid: 36055
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3730
dir: disk0/00/03/60/55
datestamp: 2025-02-05 16:49:24
lastmod: 2025-03-10 14:44:34
status_changed: 2025-02-05 16:49:24
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Michaeli, Daniel Tobias
creators_name: Michaeli, Julia Caroline
creators_name: Albers, Sebastian
creators_name: Michaeli, Thomas
title: The Healthcare Workforce Shortage of Nurses and Physicians: Practice, Theory, Evidence, and Ways Forward
ispublished: pub
subjects: ddc-610
divisions: i-910100
abstract: The healthcare sector is ubiquitously plagued by workforce shortages in economies around the globe. The fragility of this structural shortage becomes apparent when external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbate the lack of workers in clinical practice. In this article, we summarize current trends in healthcare workforce development across the globe, review theoretical concepts of workforce shortages, and discuss policies to address them. In practice, developed countries often address workforce shortages with targeted migration policies. However, targeted workforce migration policies only intensify workforce shortages in low-and middle-income countries. Theoretical macroeconomic models suggest that supply shortages may result from too low wages, supply lagging behind demand, and social perception. Changes in the wage rate cannot sufficiently increase the supply of health professionals as scholars find inelastic wages for physicians and nurses. Nonpecuniary factors such as working conditions, job satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation are at least equally important as financial incentives. In conclusion, increased wages can only be part of a heterogeneous policy plan to address shortages. Migration and retirement levels of health professionals can temporarily mitigate workforce shortages but rarely change the underlying systemic issues. Increasing the number of places available in medical and nursing schools while also improving, both, financial and nonfinancial incentives for employees are long-term structural policy options.
date: 2024
date_type: published
publisher: Sage
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00036055
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544241286083
ppn_swb: 1919453083
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-360554
language: eng
bibsort: MICHAELIDATHEHEALTHC20241113
full_text_status: public
publication: Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice
volume: 25
number: 4
place_of_pub: Los Angeles
pagerange: 216-227
pages: 12
issn: 1527-1544
citation:   Michaeli, Daniel Tobias ; Michaeli, Julia Caroline ; Albers, Sebastian ; Michaeli, Thomas  (2024) The Healthcare Workforce Shortage of Nurses and Physicians: Practice, Theory, Evidence, and Ways Forward.  Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 25 (4).  pp. 216-227.  ISSN 1527-1544     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/36055/1/michaeli-et-al-2024-the-healthcare-workforce-shortage-of-nurses-and-physicians.pdf