VCU news

David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, and Victor A. Yanchick, Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Pharmacy, will participate in the Department of Health Professions (DHP) Healthcare Workforce Data Center (HWDC) forum titled, “New Frontiers for Virginia’s Healthcare Workforce,” which will provide insights on workforce preferences of practitioners statewide.

The forum explores the implications of the age, gender, diversity, early development, academic preparation and geographic location of the commonwealth’s dentists, dental hygienists, registered and practical nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians licensed by the state boards of dentistry, nursing and pharmacy.

The event takes place on Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Conference Center of the Perimeter Center Building at 9960 Mayland Dr. in Henrico.

The DHP recently released five new reports compiled from 2011-2012 surveys from licensed dental, nursing and pharmacy professions. The surveys will serve as the basis for discussion.

The DHP HWDC data shows:

• Nearly 72 percent of all Virginia dentists are male. Male dentists tend to be older than their female counterparts.
• The median age of Virginia’s nursing workforce, as of Jan. 1, 2012, is 47. For registered nurses, the median age is 48, while the median age for licensed practical nurses is 44. Less than 31 percent of nurses are age 55 or older, while less than 33 percent are younger than 40.
• Almost 13 percent of Virginia’s pharmacists plan to retire within the next five years, including 5.3 percent who plan to retire within two years of completing the survey.

William Hazel, M.D., Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources, will address the status of Virginia’s health care workforce and the demand for dentistry, nursing and pharmacy services from Virginia’s eight million residents. Dianne L. Reynolds-Cane, M.D., director of the DHP, will lay the groundwork for three concurrent panel discussions about the data in the HWDC reports and will direct a question-and-answer session. Dialogue between content experts from each profession will be moderated by Bob Gibson, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

In addition to VCU’s Sarrett and Yanchick, experts taking part in the discussion include:

• Elizabeth Carter, Ph.D., executive director, Healthcare Workforce Data Center
• Sandra Reen, executive director, Virginia Board of Dentistry
• Jay Douglas, R.N., executive director, Virginia Board of Dentistry
• Kimberly Carter, Ph.D., R.N., director, Radford University School of Nursing
• Caroline Juran, executive director, Virginia Board of Pharmacy

It is the mission of Virginia’s 13 health regulatory boards, the Board of Health Professions and programs that together compose the Department of Health Professions to ensure safe and competent patient care by licensing health professionals, enforcing standards of practice and providing information to health care practitioners and the public.

To read the Department of Health Professions Healthcare Workforce Data reports visit:

http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/hwdc/default.htm.

Subscribe to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.