In the fall of 2023, Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) assessed pediatric workforce vacancies and appointment wait times at children’s hospitals across the country to better understand the impact of shortages across pediatric health professions.
Notable findings include:
- Children's hospitals reported pediatric physician vacancies in a number of critical specialties. Shortages in four of those specialties are almost unchanged from those identified in 2017.
- Three out of four shortages that were reported as most severe are in neurological, behavioral, and mental health specialties.
- Six pediatric non-physician workforce professional areas are also facing major shortage according to a third or more of children’s hospitals.
CHA is asking Congress to act now to bolster federal support for the pediatric workforce by:
- Supporting the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program to boost the number of pediatricians and pediatric specialists.
- Investing in hospital-based pediatric nurse and other clinician training and retraining.
- Expanding the eligibility for existing loan repayment and scholarship programs to the pediatric non-physician workforce.
- Increasing support for the pediatric workforce through Medicaid.
