There are many forces driving the ever accelerating need for professionals in all medical fields. The exponential growth in human population continues to drive demand higher. The imminent retirement of an aging Baby Boomer generation is just beginning to show us what the future will look like for healthcare providers in all disciplines. But the biggest imminent demand driver is more ominous.
Occurring regularly throughout history, pandemic illnesses strain the abilities of governments and society to provide care. The current emergence of potentially pandemic Swine Flu is only the most contemporary episode of a very old show. The jury’s still out on whether or not this will turn into a global pandemic like the 1918 flu that killed 30 to 50 million or if it will just be a typical flu season. But it is a certainty that as the globe becomes more crowded, diseases will strike and it is up to everyone – inside and outside the medical community – to make sure the healthcare system is up to the challenge.
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In 1918 during that terrible flu pandemic, city officials banned people from gathering in public in groups of more than ten people. They closed churches, schools, bars, dance halls and theaters. The mayor prohibited public funerals and required bodies to be buried within twenty-four hours of death. Many workplaces required their workers to wear masks to prevent the disease, but the masks did little to prevent it. It seems inconceivable that such a thing could happen right now.