Pooja Kumar is a senior partner in the Social Sector, Healthcare, & Public Sector Entities (SHaPE) practice at McKinsey & Company’s office in Philadelphia. A physician by training, Pooja serves health systems on large-scale performance transformations as well as on growth and partnership strategies. She has worked for public- and private-sector institutions and for not-for-profit and for-profit health systems. Pooja leads McKinsey’s work in academic health systems and leads the firm’s knowledge development on patient access and ambulatory operations.
Every public health system is unique, and the reasons for shortages vary. To respond, leaders can analyze their particular needs and then take action to develop and re-stock the talent pool. Here are four actions that can help.