THE FUTURE OF WORK FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

THE FUTURE OF WORK FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

By Adedeji Adeniyi

Over the recent past, the healthcare sector has experienced significant challenges and growth. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated technological advancement, which has disrupted the medical sector the world over. These changes will further

affect the nature of work for healthcare professionals in the coming years as the nature of work across all other industries is continually changing. The healthcare sector is about to undergo a significant transformation as healthcare businesses prepare their workforces

for a technologically driven future, changing customer demands, reduced profit margins, an ageing population that will likely live longer with chronic diseases, and the arrival of new market disruptors to help address these challenges. The gig economy and the increasing prevalence of virtual work are examples of how younger generations of healthcare professionals often have different expectations than older generations, rejecting traditional career pathways and advocating for new work models.

Also, the delivery of health services is changing drastically, moving from fragmented and disease-centred care to integrated and people-centred care. Health professionals are at the centre of this shift, which places demands on them that include changes to the skill set used in daily practice. Healthcare professionals need to possess the following; interpersonal skills, peoplecentred communication, interprofessional teamwork, self-awareness, sociocultural

sensitivity, analytical skills, adaptive problem-solving, system thinking, openness to continuous learning, and most especially the capacity to use digital technologies effectively, to stay relevant in the future of work.

The need for these crossdisciplinary skills stems from the reality that health professionals must manage increasingly complex tasks at work, such as actively involving patients in their care management and health maintenance, while also working in an environment that necessitates their continuous adaptation to changes in technology and industry standards. All frontline healthcare professionals must possess these abilities to fully benefit from the potential advantages of people-centred care, including improved patient and population outcomes, more productivity, and higher retention/job satisfaction among the employees themselves. However, as a result of the development of disruptive technologies and the influx of

the younger generation into the health sector, the workforce is anticipated to alter in the following ways:

• In five years, it is anticipated that AI will be used in 95% of customer contacts.

• In the next ten years, automation may replace over half (47%) of all occupations.

• 94% of the net increase in jobs over the previous five years was accounted for by contractors, gig workers, and freelancers.

• Millennials are predicted to make up over 75% of the workforce by 2025, up from their present percentage of almost 50% in the labour force.

As baby boomers extend productive life through healthy practices, the “100-year life” has implications for careers extending from 30 to 50 years. Building and sustaining a resilient and resourceful

health workforce for the future depends on health professionals being prepared to handle the dual difficulties of a technologically and emotionally complex healthcare workplace. It’s important to note that the future of healthcare workers starts now as technology and patient needs are already taking an active role in shaping the future of healthcare. So, healthcare workers being at the centre of healthcare provision in the future will have to be more strategic to maximize their career potential as demand for them will remain high.