First it was manufacturing, then IT jobs and next it may be us, and so this post is my attempt to make us think about our futures and brainstorm and maybe think outside the box to come up with new ideas.
The US health care system is in shambles. We now lag behind 36 countries in overall health system performance ranging from infant mortality to adult mortality to life expectancy. The maternal death rate in NYC is over 20%. Smaller companies like Blue Ridge Paper Co in North Carolina that are essentially self insured for their 2000 employees is sending employees to India and Thailand for medical proceedures. Open Heart in New Delhi, India at the world class Apollo Hospital is $6500 plus airfare that can be found for as little as $700 if booked in advance. The cost in the US is an average of $60K. The patient/nurse ratio in India is 1 to 1 and they only employ RN's.
This is all new thinking, but what happens when a large company like General Motors or Citibank hops on this bandwagon? 350,000 Americans are now going out of the country for surgical proceedures. 44 million Americans are without healthcare insurance, and Congress has passed laws that you can no longer file bankruptcy to get rid of your medical expenses. 70% of medical expenses are incurred the last decade of life. The oldest of 77 million Babyboomers just turned 60.
So, if this trend continues, where does that leave us and what can we do to make ourselves more marketable? How do we redefine nursing employment? Obviously, there will still be a demand for emergency care and emergency surgery and chronic care to some extent. But what about caps on medicare spending for chronic care---then what will people do.
I wish I had a crystal ball, but alas I don't. I'm seeing more and more part-time and seasonal contract work in the paper. I'm seeing less and less "benefits" Will we first be outsourced to a nursing agency the way payroll services were outsourced----so we won't work for Healthy Hospital or Old Age Home, but rather ABC Nursing Agency. Will we all become contract labor? Will we bid jobs?
This will be a time of great turmoil and also great opportunities. I want to concentrate on the opportunities. What are your ideas??????