Why landing a doctor's appointment is such a headache — especially in rural America

• US hospitals are facing critical shortages of healthcare workers.
• 85% of rural hospital execs struggle with local hiring, especially preventive care.
• Are you a healthcare worker or struggling to find care? Reach out to allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.

Hiring in Corporate America may be sluggish, but hospitals are scrambling for talent.

It's a rare bright spot in a jobs landscape with limited openings, widespread hiring freezes, and an increasingly frustrated workforce.

It also presents a major challenge for the medical field. For patients, it means longer waits at the doctor's office and appointment headaches. For clinics, it means they can see fewer patients, jeopardizing their bottom line.

A new report from the healthcare education platform Covista found that hospital leaders are falling noticeably short in filling positions across the US — especially in roles people seek out most, such as primary care.

"We're looking at dramatic shortages as we move forward for nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals," Steve Beard, chair and CEO of Covista, told Business Insider.

There are far more healthcare job openings than available workers

Healthcare is among the few sectors of the job market that are actively growing. Over 702,000 healthcare job vacancies are posted each month, with only 306,000 unemployed workers nationwide available to fill them, according to a February report from Covista and Gallup. Researchers surveyed 1,347 clinicians and 167 healthcare executives across all 50 states.

It's a challenge unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts the US workforce will be short thousands of workers every year over the next decade. In 2026, America needs more than 1 million medical professionals, but only about 960,000 are actively employed in the field. Demand will balloon as baby boomers age and need short- or long-term care.

Beard said that primary care providers and specialists, the "linchpin" of preventive medicine, are the most difficult positions for clinics to fill. Demand for allied health providers — including ultrasound techs, lab techs, radiologists, and similar roles — also far exceeds supply.

This is especially true in less populated areas: 85% of rural healthcare executives surveyed by Covista said they can't find enough local talent, while only 45% reported the same challenge in cities. And, because healthcare is such a fast-moving, hands-on job, few of those surveyed felt that AI is tangibly alleviating staff shortages.

"There's just no substitute for the role that human beings play in helping people heal, recover and grow," Beard said. He added that healthcare workers "aren't fungible. They are critically important to what the experience is for all Americans who rely on the US healthcare system."

Worker shortages are also part of a bigger problem facing America's hospitals. Dwindling funding, federal changes to Medicaid, and shrinking small-town populations have led to the closure of hundreds of hospitals since 2010. The majority of those are in rural areas, with nearly 800 more rural hospitals currently at risk of closure due to financial challenges.

Others that remain open have stopped inpatient care, limiting critical access to emergency rooms, labor and delivery units, and mental health support — medical specialties that can require round-the-clock staffing. In an intensive care unit, for example, at least one nurse must be on shift for every two patients.

There may still be good news for hospital hiring managers: Enrollment in US medical schools grew last year, and nursing school enrollment is rebounding from a dip in 2022. Though Beard said that it will take time to build up that workforce in rural areas, and incentivize them to stay there.

"An important part of the solution here is that we can actually train clinical talent in the markets where they live and work," he said.