Hampton Roads and Eastern Virginia need more than 3,500 additional registered nurses, according to a new report that shows healthcare employers continue to face shortages across a wide range of occupations.
The analysis from Claude Moore Opportunities estimates the region needs 3,536 registered nurses, 1,725 social and human service assistants, 987 physical therapists and 905 licensed practical and vocational nurses.
The findings are based on an analysis of active job ads performed by the George Mason University Center for Health Workforce.
Demand also extends to jobs with smaller workforces, such as radiologic technologists, mental health counselors, medical assistants and cardiovascular technicians.
Bill Hazel, CEO of Claude Moore Opportunities, said multiple factors are contributing to the workforce shortages. Addressing them starts with keeping people already in the field.
“Keeping employees in retention is number one,” Hazel said. “Good supervision, career opportunities, pay — all of those things play a role, no doubt.”
A hospital may need far fewer radiology technicians than nurses, Hazel said, but losing even one specialized worker can have an outsized effect on services.
An emergency department, for example, still needs workers who can perform imaging and other specialized procedures.
Hazel said an aging population is increasing the need for healthcare, while retirements, normal turnover and workers leaving the profession during the pandemic have contributed to staffing gaps.
Another challenge is getting students who have already started health care training across the finish line.
“Many of our students, particularly in the community college system, are a flat tire or childcare issue away from completion,” Hazel said.
Even if more students want to enter health care, schools may not have enough capacity to train them.
Many of those barriers have surfaced before. WHRO reported in July that nursing programs in Virginia are constrained by shortages of faculty and clinical training sites as they face pressure to graduate more nurses.
Nurse educators also pointed to the pay gap between clinical practice and teaching as one reason schools struggle to recruit faculty.
“That one instructor is probably going to get paid a lot more by working at the hospital than they are teaching,” Hazel said.
Virginia is putting new money toward expanding that training capacity. The state’s adopted budget includes $20 million to expand career and technical education and workforce programs across the Virginia Community College System.
The state is also receiving $189.5 million in first-year federal funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program, a five-year initiative focused on rural health care.
Virginia’s plan includes workforce efforts such as expanding allied health degree programs, earn-to-learn programs and career pipelines.
Hazel said Hampton Roads has another potential source of health care workers: military medics and corpsmen leaving active duty.
Military medical experience does not always translate directly into the licensing or certifications required for civilian healthcare jobs. Virginia’s existing Military Medics and Corpsmen Program allows some recently separated military medical personnel to continue using clinical skills under supervision while they work toward civilian credentials.
A state law approved earlier this year expands that effort. It directs the Virginia departments of Veterans Services and Health Professions to develop pathways to allow military medical training to count toward civilian education and licensure, including ways to award academic credit for prior military experience.
