The ongoing healthcare worker shortage in the U.S. is creating significant challenges for the industry, according to analysts.
The nation is currently grappling with a worsening healthcare worker shortage. Non-metro areas of the U.S. are projected to face a 39% staffing shortage of primary care physicians by 2038, according to the Bureau of Health Workforce.
“One of the primary drivers of the ongoing healthcare worker shortage in the U.S. is growing demand for health care stemming from an aging population, an increase in complex chronic conditions and higher levels of acuity,” American Hospital Association Associate Director of Media Relations Ben Teicher told the DCNF. “Simply put, we have more people that need healthcare, so we need more people to care for them.”
“The demographic shifts of our communities are also reflected in our workforce,” Teicher added. “The number of healthcare workers who are in the retirement window (both physicians and nurses) is significant … This is not just a concern in terms of the numbers of workers we have on the whole, but these veteran healthcare workers are often who help train, mentor and lead the next generation.”
The World Health Organization estimated in July 2025 that there will be a global shortage of 4.5 million nurses and 0.31 million midwives by 2030.
The nation’s ongoing medical worker shortage stems from a rapidly aging population, various staff recruitment and retention challenges and high labor costs, according to the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation. Shortages can cause major issues, including worsening healthcare access and quality, driving up costs, and fueling burnout among healthcare workers, per the NIHCM Foundation.
Hospital staff shortages can also increase wait times for patients, according to Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
“The field is also seeing infrastructure and training challenges as we do not have the faculty necessary to train the next generation of healthcare workers,” Teicher explained. “Faculty positions are often held by veteran healthcare professionals as well so because of this shortage, colleges and education programs have to turn away applicants for their healthcare programs.”
Rampant burnout among healthcare workers may be partly fueling workforce shortages across the U.S. Approximately one in three physicians are grappling with burnout at any given time, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“For more than 20 years, the U.S. healthcare system has struggled to find enough registered nurses to meet patient care needs,” American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Chief Communications Officer Robert Rosseter told the DCNF. “The shortage is fueled by an increase in the demand for nursing services from our aging population, a large wave of nurse retirements that will continue over the next decade, and an increase in new opportunities for nurses at all levels, including a larger role for nurses in providing primary care.”
“The demand for RNs is increasing for a number of reasons, including an increased emphasis on preventive care; growing rates of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity; and demand for healthcare services from the baby-boom population, as they live longer and more active lives,” he continued.
Rosseter emphasized that maintaining a “healthy supply” of registered nurses is “essential to maintaining the health of the nation.” He added that addressing the U.S. nursing shortage is “critical to ensuring that all citizens have access to care for themselves and their families.”
The U.S. federal government expects there to be over 189,000 job openings for registered nurses nationwide every year through 2034, according to an AACN fact sheet.
The Trump administration’s sweeping deportation efforts could worsen the nation’s healthcare workforce shortages, according to JAMA Network research. Immigrants and their adult children represent a greater share of physicians, surgeons and other healthcare professionals in the U.S. than they do of the total population, KFF reported.
Immigrants make up at least 18.8% healthcare workers nationwide, according to an April report by the American Immigration Council.
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