About UsThe George Washington University Health Workforce Institute (GWHWI) is an university-wide initiative to strengthen health workforce policies in the United States and around the world. The GWHWI is housed in the Department of Health Policy and Management and its members represent the Milken Institute School of Public Health, School of Nursing, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Business, Graduate School of Education & Human Development, and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration. Read more...
|
Strengthening the evidence base of health workforce policy through more and better research.
|
Increasing GW’s health workforce policy education and training offerings for both graduate students, and domestic and international health policy leaders.
|
Increasing policy coordination and consensus among public and private decision makers.
|
|
American Academy of Nursing Celebrates Four Health Care Leaders as 2018 Honorary Fellows
Patricia Pittman, co-director of the GW Health Workforce Institute, is one of four individuals named as Honorary Fellows. The Academy is comprised of nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy and research. The Honorary Fellow designation recognizes the contributions of noteworthy professionals from outside of the nursing profession. |
|
The Full Cohort of Atlantic Fellows is Announced
The Leaders for Health Equity Fellowship Program is now officially a member of the Atlantic Fellows Community and will now be known as the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity (AFHE). This first full global cohort of changemakers includes advocates, lawyers, artists, business professionals, health practitioners, government officials, academics, and researchers. The Fellows programs are an intentional effort to bring together mid-career individuals from diverse professions, backgrounds and areas of expertise to learn from one another, find solutions to pressing problems, and achieve demonstrable impact. |
|
National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee
Congratulations to GWHWI member, Edward Salsberg, for being appointed a new National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee on integrating social needs care workforce into health care delivery. |
|
2018 Awards for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education Announced
The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University and the Beyond Flexner Alliance today announced the selection of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education. The purpose of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards is to recognize outstanding leadership in promoting social mission in health professions education. Social mission is defined as activities or initiatives that teach, model, or improve community engagement, diversity, disparities reduction, value based care, or engagement with the social determinants of health. Social mission enhancement means making programs not only better, but fairer. View announcement Award Recipients
|
|
GAO Report: HHS Needs Better Information to Assess Impact of Federal Programs on the Physician Workforce
This GAO report found that while federal agencies generally collect information needed to manage their individual programs, this information is not sufficient to comprehensively understand whether the federal investment in GME training meets national physician workforce needs. Read full report GWHWI co-directors Fitzhugh Mullan and Patricia Pittman commented on this report. View comments |
|
Dr. Joedrecka Brown Speights to serve as Interim Chair of Florida State University's Department of Family Medicine & Rural Health (FMRH)
Effective April 2018, Dr. Joedrecka Brown Speights will serve as Interim Chair of FMRH. Her passion is to reduce health care disparities and she helped develop programs for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine on ways to teach health care providers to reduce health care disparities, promote mentorship, and achieve health equity. This past year, she was chosen as an Inaugural 2017 Fellow for the Leaders for Health Equity Fellowship at George Washington University and was recently awarded FSU’s prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award for her record of scholarly and service work dedicated to the underserved. |
|
NRMP® Research Advisory Committee Welcomes New Members
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) Research Advisory Committee welcomes new members, including GW HWRC Deputy Director, Clese Erikson. Operating in an advisory capacity, the Committee supports the efforts of the Board’s Data Release and Research Committee (DRRC) to develop, promote, and maintain a robust research agenda and establish new partnerships with nationally-recognized researchers and organizations. View committee members |
|
2018 Leaders for Health Equity Fellowship Selects New Fellows
In addition to fellows based in the United States, the cohort includes health professionals from Ethiopia, India, Sierra Leone, Argentina, and the Philippines “We are excited about this extraordinary group of fellows and the continued development of a network of leaders in health equity” says Guenevere Burke, MD, Co-Director of the LHE and Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management and Emergency Medicine at GW. The cohort includes leaders with expertise in law, economics, medicine, dentistry, and nursing. |
|
GW Health Workforce Research Center Receives Renewed Funding
GW's Health Workforce Research Center (HWRC) received renewed funding over five years from the U.S. Bureau of the Health Professions. The Cooperative Agreement from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services will allow the GW HWRC to focus their research on emerging workforce topics relating to Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Learn more about the GW HWRC |
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
|
Does the Patient-centered Medical Home Model Change Staffing and Utilization in the Community Health Centers?
A new study in Medical Care examines the workforce transformation occurring in community health centers that have achieved PCMH status and assesses the relationship of those changes to utilization, as measured by the number of visits. The findings suggest that the implementation of PCMH actively re-engineers staff composition and this, in turn, results in changes in marginal utilization by each staff type. GWHWI members involved in this research include Jeongyoung Park and Patricia Pittman. |
|
Changes in the Pipeline of New NPs and RNs: Implications for Health Care Delivery and Educational Capacity
A new HealthAffairs Blog, shows the rising numbers of new nurse practitioners is likely to impact the needs for and supply of both physicians and nurses. The availability of a robust supply of NPs combined with pressures to constrain the growth in costs and to improve efficiency is likely to mean that more health care organizations and physician groups will look to NPs to help meet growing needs. GWHWI member involved in this research include Edward Salsberg. |
|
New Social Workers: Results of the Nationwide Survey of 2017 Social Work Graduates
This report is an analysis of a survey of recent social work graduates, which was administered in August 2017. The survey instrument addressed student demographics, employment, and perceptions of social work education and the job market. GWHWI members involved in this research include Edward Salsberg and Leo Quigley. |
|
NP and PA Privileging in Acute Care Settings: Do Scope of Practice Laws Matter?
This new research article assesses the extent of variation of medical staffing privileging policies in four clinical areas and examines whether the differences are associated with state scope of practice laws for NPs and PAs. The relationship of NP and PA privileging policies to each other is also examined. Authors found no evidence that hospital privileging is associated with state scope of practice, and indeed within-state variation is more significant than cross-state variation. GWHWI members involved in this research include Patricia Pittman and Xinxin Han. |
|
Determinants of the Physician Assistant/Associate Concept in Global Health Systems
This research article finds that the growth of PAs among countries is largely because their training is less expensive and time intensive than physicians, and graduates are more likely to occupy roles where there is scarcity in doctors such as in rural and underserved areas. In addition, in most instances, a physician-dependent role permits their introduction into the health system to be nonthreatening to physicians and medical practices. GWHWI member involved in this research includes James Cawley. |
|
Profile of the Social Work Workforce
A new report uses available sources of data to present a profile of the current social work workforce defined according to the jobs social workers hold. This includes the size of the workforce, its demographic and educational background, its work setting, its compensation, and its geographical distribution. GWHWI members involved in this research include Edward Salsberg and Leo Quigley. |
|
Report on the Survey of 2017 Nephrology Fellows
A new report prepared for the American Society of Nephrology, focuses on three overarching themes and trends over the past 4 years:
|
|
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine: A Growing Share of the Physician Workforce
A new Health Affairs blog finds that the doctor of osteopathic medicine workforce is growing rapidly is on track to play an increasingly important role in ensuring access to care nationwide, including for our most vulnerable populations. Authors include GWHWI members Clese Erikson and Edward Salsberg. |
|
Clinical Non-Licensed Support Personnel in US Hospitals: Job Trends from 2010 to 2015
This is the first study to systematically examine trends in the clinical non-licensed personnel (CNLP) workforce in hospitals. Using Premier’s OperationsAdvisor ® database, authors examined trends in staffing of 25 CNLP jobs and graduate nurses in medical-surgical units, outpatient units, and emergency departments from 2010 to 2015, based on their skill levels. A statistically significant decline in the average number of high-skill CNLP FTEs (22 percent) and an increase in the average number of low-skill by 38 percent, although this decline was not statistically significant was observed. |
|
Social Mission in Health Professions Education: Beyond Flexner
This JAMA Viewpoint, authored by GWHWI co-director Fitzhugh Mullan, details why and how the Beyond Flexner movement has grown and why it is critical for health professions educators, leaders, learners, and community-based allies to join the BFA and move social mission to the top of the concerns and commitments of the health professions education community in the United States and elsewhere. |
|
Alternative Payment Models Lead to Strategic Care Coordination Workforce Investments
This research article used a comparative case study design exploring four sites engaged in Medicaid payment reform and accountable care organizations and found evidence of significant investments in the care coordination workforce for high risk patients and task delegation of low complexity care coordination activities to LPNs and MAs. Authors include GWHWI members Clese Erikson and Patricia Pittman, along with researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. |