Wisconsin looking ahead, seeing huge physician, nurse shortage

Report shows state could be short 2,000 nurses

Physicians, nurses could become a rare breed if things don’t change.

A recent report showing a physician shortage is coming in the next 20 years if things don’t change, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association 

Dr. Greg Thompson, Director of Medical Education at Gundersen Health System, says the shortage is already happening now.

“Currently we are recruiting for 57 different physician positions,” he said. “As the patient population ages, the number of visits tends to go up – more time that’s required of providers,” Thompson said. “As well, our physicians are part of that group that’s looking at retirement.”

Nurses could be an even bigger problem. The trend shows Wisconsin will be short about 2,000 at the end of that 20-year window.

To combat the situation, the industry gets on the recruiting trail, as if it’s a big-time football program.

“We have our health science academy, where we expose high school students to a variety of health care fields,” Thompson said. “We’re very active in colleges and universities for undergraduate education to facilitate that learning, as well.”

Thompson says the hard part is you still have to have a high standard of quality when replacing nurses, otherwise it results in more visits for the patient.