Nursing

Military faces shortage of healthcare professionals

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, January 6, 2006

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The U.S. Army is struggling to recruit enough doctors, dentists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to treat soldiers on the front lines and to care for the growing physical and mental health needs of troops returning from combat, Army medical officers said.

According to an article in The Boston Globe, for the first time in five years, the Army has missed its goal for student applicants seeking medical or dental scholarships in exchange for military service. The Army is also falling short of personnel in some key medical specialties, including cardiology, officials said. Meanwhile, unable to compete with the private sector in pay and compensation, the Air Force is also struggling to retain physicians and recruit new specialists.

Lieutenant General George Peach Taylor, the Air Force surgeon general, told the House Armed Service's Committee's personnel panel that there are several factors contributing to the shortage: the military pays significantly less than the private sector, the quality of life while in the military is more stressful, and in some cases the working conditions in military hospitals and clinics need significant improvements.

Source: The Boston Globe



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