Industry Insights in Healthcare

Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) held its ninth annual Spark Summit from May 1 to May 3, 2024. The theme of the event was “Shaping Tomorrow’s Care: Powering the Patient Experience.” More than 100 healthcare leaders and human resources professionals attended, holding discussions and sharing input about ways to enhance the patient's experience.

Healthcare industry trends in 2024 include a focus on healthcare accessibility for underserved communities, propelled through an increased use of telemedicine and personalized medicine. Technological advancements in AI are set to mitigate growing issues the industry is facing this year — not only in patient-facing care, but in areas including allied healthcare and cybersecurity. How […]

Healthcare plays a fundamental role in every society, worldwide. The industry is powered by healthcare workers who provide care and services both patient-facing and administrative. Therefore, healthcare staffing shortages on the horizon foretell challenges for the industry. If you are a healthcare executive concerned about the lifeblood of your organization, where should you begin understanding […]

Every day, AI and machine learning is evolving to meet the specific needs of a wide range of industries. If you are a healthcare professional, machine learning may have already been touted to you as the magical tool to solve your allied healthcare quandaries. But is AI or machine learning right for your healthcare institution? […]

UMA has a mantra of care. One of the ways we care for our students, grads, and employer partners is by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion – often referred to as DE&I for short – within the healthcare workforce and our own team. Why is this initiative so important and what is UMA doing to […]

On June 25, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order setting forth federal strategies to strengthen and promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.1 The goal of this order, in part, was to use the federal government as a model for other businesses and organizations to follow when creating workplaces that treat all employees with dignity […]

The Role (and Impact) of Care Healthcare employees are an important part of the organization’s structure and function. Collectively, these individuals perform the duties that enable the organization to offer its products and services. Each role can also contribute to a smoother, more streamlined healthcare process. The question is: how does your organization define care […]

Examining Challenges, Trends, and Other Staffing News At Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA), the state of healthcare staffing is important to us. We aren’t only interested in learning how to prepare our grads to pursue careers, but we also want to know how the current landscape may be impacting our employer partners. Gaining a better understanding […]

Examining 2023 Trends in Business and Recruitment Process Outsourcing Outsourcing involves the use of an external or outside supplier for some type of business-related need versus relying on internal resources. Two types of outsourcing that exist within healthcare today are business process outsourcing and recruitment process outsourcing. Here we explore what each one is, what […]

Partnerships Were Strengthened with These 2023 Tracks and Topics From April 25 to April 27, 2023, Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) held its eighth annual Spark Summit in Tampa, Florida. This yearly summit provides an opportunity for UMA and its healthcare employer partners to come together both to discuss and to develop solutions for some of […]

How to Increase Your Entry-Level Healthcare Staff’s Desire to Stay A 2022 study found that the turnover rate for lower-wage healthcare roles, such as aides and assistants, was four times higher than for physicians.1 Finding ways to reduce high turnover rates for these roles can help contribute to smoother business operations while also decreasing expenses […]

Strategies for Building a Strong Team in a High-Demand Market Roughly two million new healthcare jobs are expected to be created between 2021 and 2031.1 If you’re an employer trying to find professionals to fill your open positions, you may be wondering what you can do to appeal to top talent in this field. At […]

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Independent Contractors for Healthcare Roles One of the current trends in healthcare is the hiring of more contract workers to fill open positions or roles.1 This has several pros and cons for healthcare employers, some of which we will discuss. But first, let’s talk about the difference between contract […]

Implement These Strategies to Help Inspire Greater Staff Loyalty Attracting and hiring top talent is only one piece of the puzzle when addressing some of the most common staffing issues faced in the healthcare industry today. Finding ways to make this talent want to stay with your organization versus transferring to a different employer – […]

Staying on top of workforce trends can help healthcare employers plan for upcoming employee needs. The start of a new year is a smart time to consider what lies ahead for the industry, to better prepare for future changes and reduce the likelihood of getting caught off guard. In this first of six articles created […]

Fourteen percent of U.S. workers are employed by the healthcare industry, making this one of the largest sectors nationwide, in addition to being one of the fastest growing.1 While this may be good news for job seekers who are looking for an open position, many organizations in the healthcare space are facing challenges when it […]

Additional Ways to Help Your Healthcare Staff Feel Better Mentally and Physically More than four in five larger companies offer some type of workplace wellness program.1 These programs can be a good way to help employees improve their mental and physical well-being while also increasing performance levels and reducing turnover rates.2 Finding even more ways […]

12 Tips for Shining During an Online Job Interview A 2021 Indeed survey found that 88% of employers have conducted virtual interviews when hiring.1 While online interviews provide greater convenience, you may be wondering how to put your best foot forward as a job applicant when interviewing online. At UMA, we want all our graduates […]

The coronavirus pandemic has had a deep impact on the healthcare industry, including the workforce needed to manage our response to the virus. As COVID-19 continues to cycle through the loop of detection, tracing, and more recently, vaccination, new jobs have emerged to bolster our efforts in this fight. Mike Puleo, Senior Director of Career […]

With 150 million Americans now fully vaccinated and COVID-19 deaths dropping across the US, many people who spent much of the last year working remotely are now headed back to the workplace. However, in the wake of a worldwide medical crisis, it’s clear that those returning to the office will likely not be going back […]

While the pandemic isn’t quite in the rearview mirror, we can begin to understand the larger trends that are impacting the post-pandemic world. Very few, if any, industries were left unscathed from last year’s COVID-19 outbreak, with healthcare, travel, and restaurants being among the most heavily affected. A recent McKinsey study predicts that entertainment, recreation, […]

In the late 20s and early 30s, America faced the Great Depression. From the end of 2007 to 2009, it was the Great Recession. Now, we’re in the midst of the next “Great,” which has been called the Great Resignation. Here is an explanation of what this term means, a few of the reasons why […]

You have an opening at your healthcare facility, so you post a job opening. And then you realize that most of the applications you receive aren’t a good fit for the position. The individual doesn’t have the required education, training, skills, or experience to perform the job’s duties. Or maybe you don’t get nearly the […]

A 2021 Gallup study found that 45% of full-time U.S. employees now work remotely at least part of the time – and this work-from-home trend is likely to remain for the foreseeable future.1 While transitioning an existing employee to an at-home work environment may be a matter of getting them the resources they need to […]

What to Avoid to Keep Top Healthcare Talent Interested During the Entire Hiring Process When hiring, employers often have deal breakers, or things that can instantly get a job prospect removed from their potential hiring list. Well, prospective employees can have their own deal breakers too. Knowing what these deal breakers are can help your […]

How to Tell When a Top Healthcare Employee is About to Quit and Ways to Convince Them Not to Since August of 2021, between 500,000 and 600,000 healthcare and social assistance employees have quit their jobs each month.1 As an employer, this can be incredibly frustrating because not only does it require a lot of […]

How to Create a Workplace that Boosts Employee Retention A record number of U.S. employees quit their jobs in 2021, with November holding the most voluntary separations recorded since data was first collected in December 2000 at 4.5 million.1 Of those quits, 626,000 involved workers in the healthcare and social assistance industries.2 This type of […]

Address the Causes of Pharm Tech Burnout to Help Improve Employee Retention Pharmacy technicians are experiencing burnout at somewhat alarming rates, resulting in significant increases in attrition. What’s behind pharm burnout and, perhaps more importantly, how do you deal with these factors to help improve retention? We intend to answer both of these questions. But […]

Soft Skills vs Power Skills How to Create a Powerhouse Team of Employees Through Power Skill Development One of the factors healthcare employers consider when hiring new staff is the applicant’s soft skills. But if your goal is to create a powerhouse team of employees, it may be beneficial to focus on power skills instead. […]

Productivity is just one way in which healthcare staff contributes to the workplace. It’s also a factor that comes with numerous benefits for both the employer and employee, making it worthwhile to find ways to create a highly productive work environment. Benefits of a More Productive Healthcare Workforce The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) […]

The healthcare field has lost a large number of employees due to the coronavirus pandemic, with some states even receiving a stern warning that if they don’t act soon, current staff shortages will only get worse.1 One reason behind the overwhelming healthcare exodus is employee burnout, forcing healthcare employers to find ways to combat this […]

Enhance These Skills to Promote Healthcare Employee Cooperation Providing healthcare services that are both high in quality and safety requires that individuals in the profession work together as a team.1 Skills that can lead to a more collaborative team environment are those related to communication and teamwork. Here are five to consider that, if strengthened, […]