In this report, we analyze the barriers limiting our supply of allied health professionals and offer solutions for addressing an anticipated annual shortage of up to 37,000 workers. Among the most significant challenges at hand are pipeline “bottlenecks,” wherein more students are trying to fulfill their required clinical hours—which are as high as 1,850 hours, depending on the program—than there are clinical hours available.
The report identifies key strategies to meet the need for clinical placements as well as solutions specific to the bottleneck issue. Together, these solutions would advance systematic, long-term, and innovative policy changes to help allied health students move quickly to and through the training pipeline and into essential healthcare roles.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The state’s allied health worker training pipeline requires three categories of solutions to address the bottleneck issue:
- Changes in collective stakeholder efforts: Strengthening regional consortia composed of educational institutions, employers, and community organizations who are committed to addressing the bottleneck problem.
- Changes in education programs: Increasing the use of various simulation modalities, implementing credit for prior learning and competency-based education, and incorporating the use of telehealth are all ways to help students achieve minimum competencies.
- Changes in employers: Incentivizing clinical training sites to increase clinical training opportunities, identifying currently untapped physical facilities, and expanding the use of Federally Qualified Health Centers can help with not having enough clinical placements for students.
