Becker's Hospital Review

43 43 CEO/STRATEGY Do Leaders Need a Formal Degree, or Are Executive Certificates OK? 3 Thoughts By Leo Vartorella I n today's business landscape, leaders are expected to be educated, but it's not always clear if the top per- formers in any given field require a formal degree or if continuing-education certificates fulfill necessary qual- ifications, according to the Harvard Business Review. Listed below are three questions every leader should ask themself before they consider what type of educa- tion to pursue to advance their career. 1. What specific skills are you hoping to develop? Formal degrees are excellent ways to cultivate a general education, but if you are looking to focus on targeted skills, it might be more fruitful to attend more specific certification courses. 2. What's the accepted standard in your industry? It is important to pay attention to the qualifications of your peers and those who hold positions that you aspire to hold. If you notice these positions do not require an MBA on their job listings, but people who thrive in these posts hold that degree, then you will understand the un- written industry standard. 3. How do you learn best? If you are someone who needs direct interaction with a professor in order to absorb their lessons, then you are probably best off pursuing a formal education. However, if you are an independent learner, then online courses might be more helpful for you. n 10 Cities That Added the Most Hospital Jobs in 10 Years By Alia Paavola H ospitals across the country have fueled job creation and helped slash unemployment rates significantly in the past decade. The list below — created by STAT using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics — ranks the top 10 cities, out of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, that hired the most hospital employees from July 2007 to July 2017. The ranking is based on percentage gains in the number of hospital employees. Here are the 10 metropolitan areas that added the most hos- pital jobs in the last 10 years, as measured by their percent- age increase in that timeframe. 1. New Orleans (78 percent) 2. Boise, Idaho (72 percent) 3. Austin, Texas (51 percent) 4. Columbus, Ohio (51 percent) 5. Bakersfield, Calif. (49 percent) 6. Grand Rapids, Mich. (47 percent) 7. Las Vegas (44 percent) 8. Sarasota, Fla.; North Port, Fla.; Bradenton, Fla. (42 percent) 9. San Jose, Calif. (37 percent) 10. Denver (37 percent) n Millennials Represent Boon to Nurse Workforce, Join Ranks at Twice the Rate of Baby Boomers By Kelly Gooch M illennials are becoming nurses at nearly double the rate of baby boomers, according to a study published in Health Affairs. For the study, researchers examined nurse workforce trends using the Census Bu- reau's Current Population Survey for the period 1979–2000, as well as data from the bureau's American Community Survey for 2001–15. ey looked at data on more than 429,500 RNs. e study found those born in 1955 were 65 percent less likely to become an RN com- pared to those born in the late 1980s. Re- searchers said the average millennial overall has entered the nursing workforce at nearly twice the rate (186 percent) as an average baby boomer. "However, these rates of entry appear to have finally reached a plateau, as reflected by the fact that a constant number of RNs took the required licensure exam in the period 2013–16, aer that number dou- bled between 2003 and 2013," they add. e study also found the number of younger RNs (ages 21 to 34) went from 440,000 in 2000 to 834,000 in 2015. "Overall, considering the acceleration in re- tirement of the baby boomers and the stabi- lization of the entering cohort sizes among millennials, we expect the nurse workforce to grow 36 percent, to just over four mil- lion RNs, between 2015 and 2030, a rate of 1.3 percent annual per capita growth," the study's authors wrote. "is is a rate of per capita growth similar to that observed from 1979 to 2000, but half the rate observed in the rapid-growth years of 2000–15 (2.5 percent). In other words, even with mil- lennials' unprecedented rate of entry into nursing, the retirement of the baby boomers will dampen (but not erase) the workforce growth rates of the past decade." Given the nurse workforce trends, the study's authors recommend that health- care organizations should consider "a more slowly growing workforce and the loss of an experienced cohort of RNs" as they navigate the shi to value-based care. n

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