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Hawaii is facing a severe shortage of medical workers. The shortage is extremely detrimental to public health, especially in island states like ours, where residents don't have the opportunity to easily travel to other states to receive the care they need.
As students seeking careers in health care, we worry about our future and our ability to make a difference in Hawaii and care for the people of our beloved homeland.
According to the Hawaii Medical Association, the state's vacancy rate has increased from 10% in 2019 to 17% in 2022, with nearly 4,000 remaining vacancies in hospitals and clinics. Nursing is one of the fields with the highest vacancies, with vacancy rates exceeding 30% in professions such as home health care, wound care, diabetes care, and certified practical nursing.
Additionally, social work and certain therapy, technology, and patient care specialties have vacancy rates of 20% or higher. The situation is particularly dire on nearby islands like Maui and Lanai, where vacancy rates are above 36% and 48%, respectively.
In light of these statistics, our class conducted a survey of more than 400 students in grades 8 through 12 across the state to gather insight into their perspectives on careers in the medical field. Did. She found that 48% of students were interested in the healthcare field, while 51% were not. Considering that 12% of Hawaii's jobs are currently in the health care sector, the fact that nearly half of students express an interest in pursuing a career in this field is encouraging. So why does the shortage persist?
There are many factors contributing to Hawaii's health care worker shortage. However, one of the reasons behind the talent shortage is widespread misconceptions among young people about the nature of a career in healthcare and limited awareness of the range of opportunities in this field. Our research shows that many students perceive the medical field to be very stressful and demanding, requiring extensive and expensive schooling, and many students do not consider the medical field to be a doctor. It became clear that there was a misunderstanding that the role was only related to surgery or directly involved in surgery.
While these perceptions may be true for certain medical professions, recognize that a wide range of opportunities are available in the medical field that do not necessarily involve tasks such as surgery, blood handling, and long shifts. That is important. The narrow perspective many young people have about the healthcare field can discourage them from pursuing a career in the field, ultimately exacerbating the labor shortage.
In fact, the medical field offers many opportunities that cater to a variety of interests, talents, and preferences. For example, someone interested in computer science can contribute to the medical field by developing programs to protect things like patient medical records. According to the latest available data, approximately 19% of coding specialist positions remain unfilled, demonstrating the demand for skilled professionals in this field. There are many roles that don't necessarily involve direct patient care, but are still important, such as pharmacy, occupational therapy, and various technician roles.
By allowing more students to experience diverse career paths in the healthcare field, we can help address workforce shortages and positively impact our communities. Reducing vacancy rates could help reduce the time local patients wait for the care they need and even increase life expectancy in our communities. Unless we make changes or try to influence younger generations, these rates will continue to increase.
By increasing interest in a younger generation of health care workers, we can instill hope for a brighter future for Hawai'i's health care system.
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Francisca Daly, Alecia DiMaya Gabriel, and Taviana Jamelia Samuela are seniors at Waipahu High School.
“Raise Your Hand,” a monthly column featuring young Hawaiians and their perspectives, appears in the “Insight” section the first Sunday of each month. This is promoted by the Center for Tomorrow's Leaders.
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CTLHawaii.org
