One of the major issues facing the healthcare industry today is a general tendency toward apathy (aka burnout) across the board from office staff, to nurses, to technicians to hospitalists (physicians) who simply don’t have the help or resources they need to get the job done. It is easy to fall into a state of apathy when no matter how hard you work or how much you try, there is no way to get to the needs of all your patients because there are too many of them and too few of you. It’s easy to throw up your hands and say “Why bother?”
Is Lack of Funding the Issue?
While an increase in funding might solve some of those woes, that isn’t possible because the problem lies at the core of healthcare and that is strong leadership well versed in healthcare law and policy. Universities across the country, such as Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University are addressing this issue by raising up strong leaders but even here, more students willing to take on a role of leadership are needed. Who will fill the void? Let’s take a look at a career that just might interest you and solve some major problems in the process.
Why a Healthcare Law Degree?
Anyone in hospital administration should be, no needs to be, well versed in health law and policy. Just look for a moment at the failed Affordable Care Act and you will see that there were few professionals at the beginning of Obama’s presidency who truly understood where his supposed affordable care would take the country and what it would mean to blue collar workers and small businesses to legislate that everyone MUST buy into Obamacare.
This is a policy that could have been avoided if there had been enough well-versed leaders to be vocal in the beginning. A masters in health law could help to avoid a situation like this in the future. It is imperative to know where to draw the line between healthcare and legislation. Obamacare took too much away from hospitals and put it solidly in the hands of the big insurers, who by the way, are now backing out of the plan because they also see how untenable it is.
How Health Law Programs Can Prepare Leaders
While some leaders work in law offices, others are in healthcare administration. A masters in health policy is a vital component of preparing an administrator for facing the challenges of an apathetic labor pool. What graduates are finding is that the turnover rate (due to apathy) in hospitals is a huge part of why there is such a shortage of trained medical personnel but hospitals simply can’t afford the cost of training new hires because they keep accruing bad debt due to unpaid bills made more numerous thanks to the ACA.
If you are seeking a career in either the medical or legal profession that will make a difference going forward, a health policy masters will prepare you to help make viable legislation a reality. You can offer input, lobby Washington, mentor students and make an impact in a number of ways but first you need to understand how a failed policy made problems in healthcare exponentially worse. This is a career where you will be part of the solution and at the end of the day, there is nothing more rewarding than that.
Mia Guerra
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