Ever feel like you're on a professional roller coaster? Such feelings are common in today's healthcare marketplace, where demand for your profession may seem to peak one day and plunge the next.

There may be some method to the madness, however. Healthcare recruiters talked to Monster.com about five of the major trends in today's healthcare employment market, and offered predictions about what healthcare job seekers can expect in the future.

1. The Nursing Shortage Will Heat Up

   Hospitals are already offering hefty signing bonuses for RNs with experience in high tech areas like critical care, intensive care, and the ER, and the demand for staff nurses in these and other specialties will continue to rise, recruiters say. "Every hospital is crying for nurses," says Ralph Steeber, president and CEO of Medsearch Staffing Services, Inc. in Cleveland. Experts say that the nursing shortage is expected to worsen because the average age of an RN is 44, more RNs are retiring than entering the workforce, and the number of new nurses is not keeping pace with the growing population. The only area of nursing that isn't booming is middle management, because hospitals are keeping fewer nurse managers on their payrolls but giving them more responsibilities, according to John A. Domino, a healthcare recruiter in Houston.

    

2. Employers Will Continue to Fight over Pharmacists

   An aging American population and a huge increase in the number of prescriptions being dispensed are driving the skyrocketing demand for pharmacists. "We've literally seen an explosion in the recruiting of pharmacists," says Curtis Pryor, vice- president of Allied Consulting, Inc., an allied health care search and consulting firm based in Irving, Texas. "Employers are fighting over them," Pryor says. Retail pharmacy chains, which are able to provide salaries that are 10 to 25 percent higher than hospitals and nursing homes, are opening thousands of new outlets nationwide and making it hard for healthcare facilities to compete for employees, Steeber says. In addition, some states and employers are beginning to require that pharmacists have a doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD), which requires more training than a traditional pharmacy degree.

    

3. The Market for Physical, Occupational and Speech Language Therapists may Rebound Slightly

   The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 decimated the job market for physical, occupational and speech language therapists. Under the BBA, the government placed a cap on the dollar amount that Medicare would reimburse healthcare facilities for outpatient therapy services. The effects were dramatic. "A few years ago, our number one recruitment search was for physical therapists," Pryor says. "Last year, we didn't do any searches for PTs. The cap essentially shut the industry down," Pryor says. Recently, the government has begun backpedaling and has allowed some exceptions to the reimbursement cap, Pryor says. "We believe the market will come back for physical therapists and other rehabilitation professionals, but we haven't seen it yet," he says. "In the latter part of the year we believe we'll be doing more physical therapy and rehabilitation-type searches."

    

4. Credentialed Radiologic Technologists Will Be a Hot Commodity

   Some states and hospitals are now requiring that radiologic technologists and other diagnostic imaging professionals have certain certifications or licenses, Pryor says, and this means that rad techs who have the proper certifications are at a premium. In addition, imaging technology is becoming increasingly advanced, making the workers who can operate such equipment valuable, he says.

    

5. Allied Health Professionals Will Play Increasing Roles in Keeping Healthcare Costs Down