AMN CEO Susan Salka Discusses Healthcare Staffing Challenges with CNBC's Jim Cramer
Susan Salka, CEO of AMN Healthcare, recently paid another visit to CNBC's "Mad Money" program, where she talked to host Jim Cramer about the looming shortage of physicians, nurses, and allied professionals — and the importance of partnering with experienced healthcare recruitment specialists who can help meet the challenges presented by those shortages.
Beginning the conversation by referring to the "cloud of uncertainty" hanging over the healthcare industry via back-and-forth efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Cramer asked Salka to explain what healthcare employers can do about that uncertainty, as well as other points of concern (like the ongoing primary care shortage, the aging physician workforce, and an aging patient population).
"With so many more people hitting that magic 65, there's a greater demand in utilization," Salka explained. "And then amidst that, we have a shortage of clinicians. In fact, we are at the beginning of what's expected to be one of the worst shortages of nurses, physicians, allied professionals and leaders within health care."
"The aging of the clinical population is a huge issue," she added. "So many of them are hitting retirement age — they may not leave the workforce, but they'll certainly cut back on hours. And ... there aren't enough residency programs in order to be able to create that future workforce."
Acknowledging that legislative uncertainty is a challenge for healthcare employers, Salka also posited that the ACA repeal attempts are "not likely to change the increasing demand for nurses, physicians and allied professionals, and the need to become more efficient in the way that you manage your workforce." She also explains that AMN is positioned to help employers do just that, via a suite of workforce management solutions that ranges from staffing permanent and temporary professionals to implementing technology solutions.
Salka is no stranger to "Mad Money," having made consistent appearances on the popular show over the past half-decade. Last year, she appeared on the program to discuss the nation's physician shortage — and its effects on healthcare staffing, and the industry in general — explaining to Cramer how the workforce solutions offered by AMN Healthcare can help healthcare employers meet "challenges in hiring not only temporary but permanent staff" related to growing "gaps between job openings and job hires" in the healthcare industry.
And back in 2013, she spoke with Cramer about how the onset of the ACA, the physician shortage, and a handful of other factors were creating a “perfect storm” to accelerate demand for healthcare professionals.
If you missed last week's broadcast, you can check out a video of the highlights below. And there's a good chance you'll be seeing Susan Salka again in the future — she's "welcome on the show anytime," as Cramer himself wrote in October 2016.
