With five million people - or one in 10 workers - in the healthcare sector, the healthcare industry has the second largest employer base behind the food service industry, according to Anthony Burke, president and CEO of AHA Solutions.
Still, more than 5.3 million healthcare professionals will be required by 2010 to meet the needs of the healthcare industry, Burke said. Hospitals across the country, however, are experiencing shortages of critical care professionals in pharmacy, lab, imaging and nursing in a keenly competitive market.
"Hospitals can't sacrifice care; they need the right person in the right job," Burke said. "Staffing is not negotiable. The highest levels of care are a mandate."
Given those challenges, hospital executives need to think of more creative ways to recruit and staff for the future. Instead of commercial job boards, executives can go through associations to find talent and fill niche positions.
AHA Solutions, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association that finds products and services to help hospitals operate in an efficient and effective manner, devised a career network strategy. The network was designed to serve the needs of its members, which include hospitals and approximately 35,000 individuals.
"Associations bind the two together - job seekers and hospitals," Burke said.
Small organizations are usually under-represented in large, homogenous job boards, he said, but they still need access to find and reach local talent. AHA Solutions' National Healthcare Career Network provides these smaller hospitals with direct access to a "deep and meaningful talent pool," Burke said.
The career network provides mentoring, resources and tools for job seekers. As an association, AHA Solutions serves as an educator and knowledge-sharing body for its members.
AHA Solutions is constantly communicating with its members through surveys and focus groups, and will use the feedback from these venues to fine-tune its career network, Burke said.