Clinical Professions
Health Administration & Management
Hospital hiring + staffing challenges
- Many hospitals are in COVID-19/crisis hiring and staffing mode, primarily hiring for clinical roles. The need for experienced health care professionals is high, which is not surprising during a global medical emergency. Many hospitals are also temporarily pausing their university recruiting. At least some hospitals (e.g., Lurie Children’s) are pausing acceptance and on-boarding of new volunteers.
- Current sample entry-level hospital openings in Chicago area:
- Case Management Specialist– Triage at Advocate Aurora Health Care
- Patient Access Specialist at Northwestern Medicine
- Community Health RN at Rush University Medical Center
- Many medical/health care schools are trying to graduate students early (and many states are calling for retired health professionals to return or to travel to the hardest hit areas, like New York). Some states are expanding reciprocity of licensing (for doctors and nurses) across state lines.
- Some states (e.g., NY and NJ) are temporarily easing restrictions on foreign medical graduates
- NY: Allowed to practice if have 1+ year of US graduate medical education
- NJ: Granting temporary licenses to doctors licensed in foreign countries
- Potentially large impact if restrictions are eased permanently/across more states
Graduate programs + testing + licensing challenges
- Impacts to standardized testing
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- E.g., MCAT exams cancelled through May 21
- Graduate application cycles still opening for professional health programs—impact to full admissions processes (e.g., interviewing) is still unclear
- Flexibility and changes to clinical hour requirements—including flexibility in hour requirements, what experiences count toward clinical hours, etc. (often on state-by-state basis by state licensing boards)
- Licensing exams—changing in exam schedules, procedures, etc. (e.g., for NCLEX)
Research & Development, Biotech and Medical Technology
Opportunity + great need for scientific and medical innovation
- This is a big moment for R&D for COVID-19 testing, vaccines, health communication and prevention, and it will continue to be for some time (next 1-3 years?).
- Healthcare tech companies are on the forefront.
- MATTER + 1871 + mHUB—leading research/tech collaboration with Chicago startups
Health Promotion and Wellness
Research & Development, Biotech and Medical Technology
Delivery of health and wellness services
- Telehealth, telemedicine (primary care),and teletherapy are all becoming much more common. This could help in expanding access to health care in rural areas, expanding preventive medicine, and better informing patients even after COVID-19.
- Veeva Health is pushing to provide more digital access to healthcare: stocks, Twitter followers, and job postings all up significantly in 2020.
- Teladoc is also increasing digital access to healthcare.
- Digital delivery of wellness and fitness services is exponentially expanding due to closure of gyms and other fitness locations. This could remain high after COVID-19 to expand fitness programs access to areas without fitness centers (especially “boutique” classes).For example:
Public Health & Health Policy
Environmental Science, Energy and Natural Resources
Additional HCS hiring trends
- Pharmacies are hiring rapidly:
- CVS recently announced plans to hire 50,000 full, part-time, and temporary roles
- University scientific research:
- The future is uncertain with hiring freezes, research budgets in limbo, federal funding uncertain, and virtual research challenges.
- Universities are still innovating, especially in response to COVID-19.
- Government scientific research—impacts on budgeting? Priorities?
- The Illinois Department of Health is still hiring interns!
- Trends to watch: environmental & resource trends (air quality, water quality, emissions, transportation, natural resources, consumer patterns, etc.). Stay tuned!