Determining future professions and competencies of health workers

Abstract

Background Constantly growing needs and challenges for the healthcare sector lead to the development of new technologies and new approaches to health promotion, which, in turn, leads to the emergence of new needs of new professions (NPs) and new competencies (NCs). Accordingly, timely forecasting of NPs and NCs of health workers (HWs) is of high relevance, since it is necessary to create conditions for the timely training of HWs with NPs and NCs Methods At the first stage, we carried out an analysis of technological trends and challenges in modern healthcare to identify potential NPs and NCs of HWs that may be required in the future. Then, the selection of the most demanded NPs and NCs was carried out on the basis of a study of a 2-round Delphi study - 196 experts selected according to the principle of “Side of the World” - from 5 organizations in 5 regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan (north, south, west, east, center). Then we made prioritization of NPs and NCs, which will be in demand in the next 10 years for the health system. Results Based on our research, a list of the following NPs was determined: IT specialist in medicine, bioethics, telemedicine physician, molecular nutritionist, clinical bioinformatics, consultant for healthy old age, expert in personalized medicine, engineer for organs and tissues, life style strategist, operator of medical robots, ergotherapist, kinesiotherapist, biopharmacologist, medical journalist, architect of medical equipment, developer of cyber prosthetics and implants. A list of NCs that will be in demand in the coming years for HWs was also determined: competencies in the fields of personalized and preventive medicine, robotic medicine, IT technology, logistics of health services, biotechnology, nanomedicine, online counseling. Conclusions The results of our study indicate the need to consolidate selected professions in the sectoral qualifications system, as well as the need to launch training programs for these NPs and NCs. Key messages An analysis of technological trends in the healthcare system and Delphi research allowed us to formulate a list of NPs and NCs. It is necessary to create a system of support and promotion of NPs and NCs to improve the quality of health services.