Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/295251
[ 46 ] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | APRIL 2014 Can Demand Keep Up With Supply? Doctor shortages add hiring pressure, create new opportunities. By Ralph Henderson Healthcare Hiring It may be surprising, but a growing number of healthcare professionals are hired, not by hospitals and large health systems, but nontraditional retail clinics, such as the one in the supermarket down the block or the pharmacy across the street. They're the professionals necessary to staff these clinics, sometimes referred to as convenient care clinics, which provide a limited range of basic preventive and primary care services to walk-in patients. They appeal to many people who are, for various reasons, unable or unwilling to make a trip to a doctor's office for a scheduled appointment. Many people find it easier and more convenient to drop into a retail clinic for a sore throat or a worrisome pain, especially in the evenings or on weekends when a doctor's office would be closed. Whatever the cause, a growing number of people seek care at the facilities located in these retail environments. What's the impact on HR? The clinics are eagerly hiring nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide basic primary-care services to walk-in patients. While many are run by physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are also well represented among clinicians working in these centers. In fact, in 2012, more than 5,000 nurse practitioners