(34) Healthcare workforce recruitment- Jumpstart the Aging Workforce (JAWS)!

Abstract: Background
There are critical shortages in the healthcare workforce, particularly in long term care (Ochieng et.al, 2022). Healthcare recruitment and retention efforts face stiff competition with other jobs that pay more with less risk. Marketing efforts must address both lack of knowledge about the variety of healthcare careers and the negative perceptions that surround care of the older adult. Experiential learning can address these “frames” and generate interest in a healthcare career.
Aim- Ignite student interest in healthcare careers and expand perceptions to include diverse careers and settings. Immerse students in simulated patient-care experiences.
Method
1. Needs assessment- listening sessions with Long Term Care (LTC) providers and statewide coalitions.
2. Recruitment- high schools, and other pre-collegiate programs supporting disadvantaged youth.
3. Exposure- college campus tours, healthcare workforce discussions, student panels.
4. Immersion in a realistic simulation requiring assessment, discovery of a bee-sting and superficial abrasions, and prioritization of interventions. Debriefing followed the Debriefing with Good Judgment Model (Rudolf et al. 2006)
Results
Listening session participants had a clear message: Heroes also work in LTC. The biggest barrier is getting recruits onsite, once there they find the work meaningful. Recruitment: 118 pre-collegiate students participated. Students ranked simulation as the most impactful. Their impressions included: “Everything we did and talked about really did help me have a clearer choice of what I want to do career wise,” and “More help [is needed] with older people, so looking into a career that involves that.”
Conclusion
Simulation can stimulate interest in a healthcare career.