Health Care Careers in Nevada John Packham, PhD Director of Health Policy Research Office of Statewide Initiatives University of Nevada School of Medicine Bishop Manogue High School March 17, 2015 Strong Projected Growth of Jobs in the Health Care Industry • Health care industry will generate more than 3 million jobs this decade – over 500,00 new jobs for registered nurses alone will be created by 2020 • Many are good-paying jobs – median wage for RNs is $65,470 versus $34,750 for all jobs • Growth of jobs includes clinical, health care administration, and health-information technology • Aging population + improved economy + health reform + aging health workforce = increased demand for health care services and professionals 2 Fastest Growing Jobs in the US Through 2022 • • • • • • • • 1st – Industrial psychologists (53%) 2nd – Personal care aides (49%) 3rd – Home health aides (48%) 6th – Diagnostic medical sonographers (46%) 8th – Occupational therapy assistants (43%) 9th – Genetic counselors (41%) 10th – Physical therapy assistants (41%) 11th – Physical therapy aides (40%) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) 3 Fastest Growing Jobs in the US Through 2022 (continued) • • • • • • • • 13th – Physician assistants (38%) 17th – Occupational therapy aides (36%) 19th – Medical secretaries (36%) 20th – Physical therapists (36%) 21st – Orthotists and prosthetists (35%) 24th – Nurse practitioners (34%) 25th – Audiologists (34%) 26th – Dental hygienists (33%) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) 4 Health Workforce Trends in Nevada • We’re number 50! Widespread shortages of health care professionals across most health care occupations and specialty areas versus other states • Geographic maldistribution – Shortages are particularly acute in rural and frontier regions • Shortages are compounded by boomer-fueled demand and the looming retirement of aging health care professionals in Nevada and the US • Good news for students! Strong demand for decent paying, recession proof jobs 5 6 Nevada Physician Workforce Rankings • • • • • • • General and Family Practitioners – 46th Pediatricians – 46rd Obstetricians and Gynecologists – 40th Ophthalmologists – 48nd Orthopedic Surgeons – 51st General Surgeons – 51st Specialty Surgeons – 51st 7 Primary Care Number of MDs per 100,000 Population – 2012 60.0 54.4 50.0 39.8 39.6 40.0 31.0 30.0 20.0 29.1 20.6 20.6 13.8 10.0 0.0 25.7 9.9 11.9 13.9 1.4 1.4 2.2 Family Medicine General Practice Nevada Internal Medicine Mountain Region Pediatrics OB/Gyn US Source: AMA. Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the US (2014) 8 Medical and Surgical Specialties Number of MDs per 100,000 Population – 2012 14.0 12.0 10.0 8.0 12.1 12.0 12.7 9.9 8.2 8.1 8.2 6.0 5.3 7.4 6.5 4.9 5.0 4.0 4.4 2.7 3.4 2.0 0.0 General Surgery Orthopedic Surgery Cardiovascular Disease Nevada Mountain Region GI Psychiatry US Source: AMA. Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the US (2014) 9 Good News for Students Pursuing Health Care Careers • Strong demand for a wide-range of health care professionals in Nevada • Higher than average salary and benefits for most health care jobs in Nevada • Career ladder opportunities for a wide variety of fields, including medicine, nursing, mental health, oral health, pharmacy, administration, and HIT 10 More Good News for Students Pursuing Health Care Careers • • • • • • • Industrial psychologists ($83,580) Diagnostic medical sonographers ($65,580) Genetic counselors ($56,800) Physician assistants ($90,930) Physical therapists ($79,860) Nurse practitioners ($89,960) Dental hygienists ($70,210) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) 11 John Packham, PhD Director of Health Policy Research Office of Statewide Initiatives University of Nevada School of Medicine (775) 784-1235 jpackham@medicine.nevada.edu http://www.medicine.nevada.edu/statewide/