It is of common knowledge that an increasing shortage of health care providers has plagued the country over the years. The increasing demand for registered nurses, care-givers, nursing assistants and others health care providers had left us no choice but to import these health care providers from other countries. It comes as no surprise for us when a report was released by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, stating that by the year 2030, our nation would be in need of about 36,000 doctors that specialize in geriatric medicine.

The study said that the increase of the baby boomers that will turn 65 years old in the coming years have initiated this phenomenon. Baby boomers are those born in between 1946 to 1964, during a period when a great surge or boom in the population was witnessed by the country. As of 2007, there are only 7,128 physicians specializing in geriatrics medicine or the care for the aged, with the Institute of Medicine expecting no more than 10 % increase in the coming years. This is a cause for concern as it is expected that by the year 2030, the baby boomers that will turn 65 years old would increase dramatically by up to 70 million. According to the report, aside from a demand for more health care providers that will focus on the elderly, there must also be new programs that will train these providers in preparation of the novel needs of the elderly. The study found that though less Americans are smoking, there has been an increase of those that are suffering from obesity. The existing skills possessed by health care providers must be modified to meet the needs of the next senior generation.

Although measures have been taken to increase government funding that caters for the health needs of the elderly through Medicare and Medicaid, experts said that these is not enough. They say that even though we may have enough funding in our system for health care projects, if there is no one to take care of the elderly, then there is no health care to speak of.

One of the recommendations of the report was to increase compensation for the health care providers, not only for the doctors but also to the nurses, care-givers and nursing assistants. These people are oftentimes in high stress situations that are both physically and emotionally challenging. The salary they get is not nearly enough to compensate for the sacrifices they make. Compared to other doctors that get an average salary of about $175,000 to $207,000, geriatric doctors only get up to an average salary of $163,000. This is attributed to the fact that most geriatric doctors are compensated from public funds of Medicare and Medicaid, funds that are meager compared to those paid by private insurance companies. Nurses also get the short end of the stick with only $10 to $ 15 wages per hour. The state and federal governments, including private associations must work together to provide for better salary incentives and benefits, better working hours and training to attract more health care providers.

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