Rural Versus Urban: Tennessee Health Administrators' Strategies On Recruitment And Retention For Radiography

摘要

There is a growing interest in understanding recruitment, retention, and turnover of allied health professionals in consideration of employment trends and workforce mobility, an increased need to understand the healthcare delivery system and the dynamic nature of the allied health workforce, especially for rural areas. A survey was sent to allied health administrators across a variety of allied health disciplines from the state of Tennessee hospitals in order to gauge opinions on retention and recruitment strategies. Overall, successful strategies for recruitment and retention of radiography professionals were reported, as well as, differences between urban and rural areas, differences among allied health disciplines, perceptions of strategy effectiveness, and key strategies for rural allied health recruitment. Introduction As of December 2010, there were 14.5 million people unemployed across the nation, which equates to 9.4 percent of the population (U.S. Dept Labor Statistics, 2011). Despite the current economic downturn, the growth in healthcare related jobs is projected to continue. The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (2009) projected a 27% increase between 2006 to 2016 in the health care and social assistance sector for available jobs in non-metropolitan counties. The Advisory Committee’s report predicted a jump from 1,550,477 health care employees to 1,969,724 for these non-metropolitan areas. These projections included increases in the numbers of allied health professionals in numerous fields, such as: pharmacy technicians (32%), medical assistants (35.4%), dental assistants (29.2%), radiologic technologists and technicians (15.1%) and medical records and health information technicians (17.8%). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Statistics (2010) of the 20 fastest growing occupations in the economy, half are related to healthcare and employment among healthcare practitioners is expected to increase by 21 percent.Healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy, and represents a considerable expenditure of federal and state funds. While information regarding the reasons allied health professionals choose to leave their current positions, little is known about organizational policies impacting recruitment and retention practices of allied health professionals in Tennessee hospitals. Understanding of this problem is vital to the prevention of a critical shortage of allied health professionals.Tennessee’s demographics present unique challenges for its healthcare delivery system. The statewide population total in 2008 was over 6.2 million, the 16 th most populous state in the United States and District of Columbia (United States Census Bureau, 2009). Of those 6.2 million residents, 1.6 million lived in a rural setting, ranking 15 th in population living in a rural environment and 37 th in percentage of individuals living in an urban environment with 63.6% (United States Census Bureau, 2002). The urban versus rural population impacts secondary health indicators such as availability and development of services offered in communities as well as availability of employment (University of South Carolina Institute for Public Service and Policy Research, 2005). As of 2007 Tennessee had 133 community hospitals with 77 in urban areas and 56 in rural settings. Of the 133, 22 were state and local government controlled, 61 were not-for-profit, and 50 were investor owned (American Hospital Association, 2009).Because of the diverse healthcare settings in Tennessee, advances in technology, the aging population, and increased demands for healthcare there is a definite need and focused statewide interest in maintaining a large group of allied health professionals. Given the dynamic nature of the employment environment and the allied health workforce there is a substantial need for further studies of allied health recruitment and retention. Literature Review National Radiology TrendsA