With the inauguration of every new president, we always look forward to the new administration tackling the ongoing issues in our industry, whether we think of our field as travel nursing or as healthcare in general. There are so many issues on President Obama’s plate right now, but we’re hopeful that healthcare will be a priority for his administration. In the course of his campaign, Obama said that healthcare reform must be woven into an economic recovery plan. After all, healthcare is one of the nation’s most important industries and an essential factor in our economy’s future success. In the past few years, the healthcare labor market has been one of the “healthiest” out there.
We’re discussing it all with our fellow travel nurses and therapists , and we’re hearing calls for:
- more input into the healthcare system by nurses, physicians and even patients — rather than managerial organizations and third parties
- more focus on financial incentives for preventive care, reducing the need for critical care
- reform of the health insurance system – with some favoring universal coverage, others a more gradual approach
- nursing education including financial aid and recruitment efforts for nursing school teachers
We’ve thinking about how travel nurses and healthcare workers can best contribute to reform, and what kind of political action we should take … seems like now is the time, while the agenda is still open. If you’ve got a plan of your own, please tell us about it.
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