The Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) increases access to health care by developing, distributing and retaining a diverse, culturally competent health workforce.
BHPr programs tackle a range of current health workforce challenges. There are numerous reports of shortages of primary care physicians, nurses, public health and allied health professionals. The shortage of nurses is made worse by a critical shortage of faculty to provide training in nursing schools. The face of the Nation’s health care workforce does not currently reflect the diversity of the population it serves.
The Health Professions Training programs make grants to health professions schools and training programs, which use the funds to develop, expand and enhance their efforts to train the health workforce America needs.
They include programs focused on increasing diversity, encouraging clinicians to practice in underserved areas, and preparing health care providers equipped to meet the needs of the aging U.S. population. Primary care medicine and dentistry, nursing, public health, psychology, allied health, and chiropractic training programs benefit from specific grant programs. BHPr also administers a scholarship for disadvantaged students and student loan programs for health professions schools.
Targeted workforce studies document and project shortages and other trends that influence the adequacy of the U.S. health care system to meet current and future needs. BHPr examines a broad range of issues that impact the supply, demand, distribution, and education of the Nation’s health workforce and provides policymakers with the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding the health professions workforce and provision of care.
BHPr helps the nation's freestanding children's hospitals meet the costs of providing graduate medical education. Medicare supports other teaching hospitals meet those costs, but because children's hospitals treat almost no Medicare patients, they are not eligible for those funds.
The Data Banks protect the public from health care practitioners, providers and suppliers with a history of malpractice, disciplinary actions, fraud and abuse.
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Supervisory Dental Officer Position - (PDF - 96KB)