Medicine faces a significant shortage of anesthesiology clinicians. This presents a pressing challenge to hospital and ambulatory surgical center executives—most notably, how to ensure the consistent delivery of safe, timely, and efficient care. Leaders must navigate the implications of delayed procedures, overworked clinicians, and strained finances. And they must develop contingency plans, since today’s anesthesiologists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) help educate the next generation.
In response, NorthStar Anesthesia is investing considerably in recruiting the anesthesia teams of tomorrow. Our guiding philosophy is that by innovating residency and student registered nurse anesthetist (SRNA) programs, we can close staffing gaps. We know that while focusing on high-cost premium labor for staffing might provide a short-term solution, it is not financially sustainable. Comparatively, our approach yields economic advantages to hospitals, health systems, and surgery centers as they search for anesthesia staffing that stems the rising cost of locums.
NorthStar’s design and operation of our residency and SRNA programs is integral to our success. NorthStar’s programs are unique because we provide a training experience that extends beyond the clinical practice of medicine, including research and experiential learning opportunities. Equally important is our commitment to creating training programs in underserved communities and accepting participants who express a desire to continue practicing medicine there after their training has concluded. NorthStar’s novel approach has led to greater clinician retention, more satisfied practitioners, advancements in anesthesiology research, and healthier communities.
Examples of NorthStar’s success are highlighted in our partnerships across Michigan and Texas. In both states, we have expanded anesthesiology residency opportunities beyond the traditional teaching hospital environment, which has created more available residency positions. Hospitals that partner with us—such as the University of Texas at Tyler and Corewell Health in Royal Oak, Michigan—afford residents a more diverse and dynamic training experience. Moreover, since NorthStar programs are often located in underserved areas, residents learn the nuances of practicing medicine in these communities—often accepting attending positions at the same hospitals where they trained. For example, NorthStar’s Department of Anesthesiology at Detroit Medical Center includes 12 NorthStar residency program graduates. By integrating residents into the fabric of a community during the training phase of their careers, NorthStar best equips clinicians to practice medicine as community-based doctors.
NorthStar places equal emphasis on training CRNAs. 50% of all CRNA new hires at NorthStar are new graduate CRNAs. In 2023, NorthStar increased the number of new graduate CRNA hires by 43%. NorthStar collaborates with 60 nurse anesthesia programs nationwide and maintains 200+ academic affiliations at more than 100 of its partner healthcare facilities—a 20% increase from 2023. Additionally, NorthStar grew its support for SRNA clinical rotations by 23% over 2023, providing 220 SRNA rotations each month. NorthStar understands that in today’s clinical environment, a well-trained CRNA workforce is essential.
Since NorthStar is focused on long-term solutions to alleviate the shortage of anesthesiology clinicians, it encourages trainees to embrace a role in training the next generation of practitioners. This is a defining feature of NorthStar’s approach that distinguishes NorthStar from other in- and out-sourced anesthesia management programs. By leveraging clinical sites as training centers, trainees receive relevant and practical real-world experiences. As a result, NorthStar’s residency programs boast a 100% primary board certification rate for trainees.
Since mentorship is so critical to holistic training, NorthStar has designed its programs to emphasize collegiality and collaboration. Its programs operate with a low faculty-to-resident ratio, affording residents significant facetime with seasoned practitioners and administrators. This allows residents to learn the clinical and business considerations of practicing medicine, an increasingly important combination of skills in today’s healthcare landscape. It also allows NorthStar-trained residents to become leaders earlier in their careers.
NorthStar views remedying the chronic shortage of anesthesiology clinicians as a mix of near-, medium-, and long-term solutions. Growing residency and SRNA programs is an important start. NorthStar’s comprehensive approach to anesthesiology training is industry leading and exemplifies how strategic and innovative training programs can ameliorate current healthcare challenges, while concurrently equipping anesthesiology clinicians to deliver superior standards of care in the future.
For more information about NorthStar’s approach, we would welcome the opportunity to meet up at Becker’s Healthcare CEO + CFO Roundtable, where NorthStar leadership will be presenting. Our team will be in Chicago November 11-14, 2024, and we invite you to stop by our booth in the exhibit hall. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about NorthStar’s Academic Affairs program and its potential impact on anesthesia clinician recruitment in your market, please contact Lauren.Thomas@northstaranesthesia.com.