Mission
The mission of WCMEW is to ensure a health care workforce that meets the needs of Wisconsin citizens by convening a wide breadth of stakeholders to:
Create a comprehensive statewide health care workforce strategic plan, and provide ongoing monitoring of progress towards plan objectives.
Work with Wisconsin’s education and training organizations to promote an appropriate supply of health care practitioners.
Monitor changes in care delivery, and encourage incorporation of those changes into education and training, and expansion of best practices.
Promote ongoing research, education and communication on workforce issues.
The WCMEW Council Seeks to Find Common Ground on the Changes We Believe Need to Be Promoted, and Looks to Council Member Organizations to Realize That Vision
OUR VISION IS TO HAVE AN ENGAGED HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE EQUIPPED TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITIES
WCMEW At a Glance
History
The Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce (WCMEW) was formed in 2004 as a response to “Who Will Care for Our Patients?,” a report that predicted a future shortage of health care practitioners and called for action to address it. Since its inception, WCMEW has served as a convener and platform for highlighting health care workforce issues.
Why Workforce, and Why Now?
Various estimates predict a physician shortage of approximately 25,000 physicians, nurses, and advanced practice clinicians by 2035 (see WCMEW's 2021 report). While reforms in care delivery, initiatives to train and fully integrate Advanced Practice Clinicians, and regional approaches to workforce needs have made significant gains, there is a lot of work to be done. In order for Wisconsin to care for its rapidly aging population, make efficient use of and retain today's current workforce, and ensure quality care for all residents, statewide strategy is critical. Challenges continue in coordination of clinical sites, various approaches to workforce planning across health care leadership, and geographic maldistribution of clinicians across Wisconsin. To ensure an adequate workforce a decade in the future, planning and action is needed now.
More workforce data
Stakeholders
WCMEW serves as Wisconsin’s leading convener of diverse stakeholders and thought leaders concerned about our current and future health care workforce. Members include health care providers, educational institutions, and other stakeholders in Wisconsin’s health care workforce. Organizations represented on the Council include:
Wisconsin Nurses Association
UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants
Wisconsin Hospital Association
Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Wisconsin Medical Society
Wisconsin Center for Nursing
State of Wisconsin
Wisconsin AHEC
Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin