Sustaining the education workforce in healthcare: challenges for the future

The aim of the study was to scope education staff capacity to meet the future needs of the healthcare workforce in practice across South West (SW) England.

As individual nations come to terms with the impact of the incurred global debt, the university sector also faces a period of financial stringency and review of current resources. Additionally, there is growing evidence world-wide, of an increasing crisis in the recruitment and retention of healthcare educators.

Using a survey approach, an audit of six universities in South West England completed a bespoke self-administered questionnaire between April and June 2008, when prior to and since these dates, major reforms have taken place. Data were entered into a spreadsheet and analysed using descriptive statistics.

Considerable variation across professional groups was observed, particularly in staff/student ratios. Data indicates an ageing workforce with less than 20% of staff in possession of a doctorate.

The results mirror other work and concerns from abroad, particularly in Nursing in identifying areas at risk in the education workforce. The potential for incentives to encourage practitioners into a career in education will do much to entice the best from practice to plan for succession, and, drive quality for patient benefit.