MEDICAL
DUKE
UNIVERSITY
CENTER
VOL. n, NO. 2 APRIL, 1964 DURHAM, N. 0.
Health Careers—Opportunity Unlimited
‘ ‘ There are currently over 6,500
vacant positions in health careers
within the state of North Carolina
alone.” This quotation is from a
bulletin distributed by Health Ca
reers for North Carolina. The North
Carolina Medical Care Commission
outlines a scholarship and loan pro-
fijrani to lielj) meet the “critical short-
afje of qualified ])ersonnel” in the
health professions. The 1963 Report
of the Surfi’eon General’s (’onsultant
Group on Nursing: bej^ins with this
statement: “A severe shortage of
nurses exists in the T^nited States to-
Jay. It is both (juantitative and
niialitative. ” Each of these quota
tions is a nuuiifestation of growing
alarm—both within and without the
health field—at the shortages of
trained ])ersoniiel which present se
rious problems to Duke Medical Cen
ter and to hos])itals and healtli facili-
ti(‘s the country over.
in 1962 The North Carolina Health
('ouncil—an informal association of
all health agencies in the state—
asked Tlie Duke Endowment to nuike
a survey of hospital ])ara-medical and
medical personnel in North Carolina.
The figures in the survey do not in
clude physicians who have comjileted
their training, although they do in
clude interns and residents and two
categories, Anesthesiologists and Di
rectors of Medical Education, are as-
sunu'd to have M.D. degrees. In tlie
study of 162 hospitals (excliuling psy
chiatric, but including general, tu
berculosis and special) were (iiun-ied.
This represented 19,983 beds. Replies
were received from 114 hospitals and
covered 70.2 per cent of beds or
k4,019. Appended is a note that 158
^eds were closed “due to persoiinel
shortage.” As of April 1, 1962, these
114 hospitals listed 8,306 i)ersons em
ployed in 25 professional categories;
the number needed for optimum care
was given as 9,913; the shortage, or
difference between the two figures, was
1,607.
A second tabulation in The Duke
Endowment report estimated person
nel needs, if optimum care Avas to be
])rovided in all 162 of the general,
special and tuberculosis hosj)itals, and
if additional inirses and attendants
were to be found for the psychiatric
lios])itals in the state. P^igures for
this w’cre based on the replies from
the 114 hospitals, on replies from the
North Carolina State Nurses Associa
tion, the North Carolina State Board
of Health, the North Carolina Phar-
Laboratory technician, nurse to the new-born, patient-care technician—these are only three
of the opportunities open to young people interested in a health career. Type and length
of training vary, but all the health professions provide the deep satisfaction of helping
others. (Duke photos by Sparks and Wallace)