New paper, “Two Gaps, One Crisis,” identifies two structural failures driving clinician shortages — and a smarter way to address them
SAN JOAQUIN, CA, UNITED STATES, April 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — HealthForce Partners California and Clasp today announced the publication of a joint white paper, Two Gaps, One Crisis: A Framework for Building Clinical Pipelines. The paper argues the U.S. clinical workforce shortage cannot be solved by competing harder for the same pool of graduating clinicians, especially given compounding financial pressures they’ll face as a result of Federal student loan caps introduced in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Instead, the publication introduces a framework for mitigating early career attrition and driving pre-graduation engagement by investing in them earlier and supporting them longer. The paper is available for free download at clasp.com/onecrisis.
The white paper documents two distinct structural failures in the clinical pipeline: a training gap, in which students from under-resourced backgrounds are pushed out before completing their degrees due to unpaid practicum requirements; and a post-graduation gap, in which layered debt and low early-career compensation make sign-on bonuses and contract labor the industry’s default — and most expensive — responses. Together, the two organizations offer complementary models addressing each juncture: HealthForce Partners California facilitates stipends for students in practicums and provides external clinical supervision, while Clasp helps health systems build commitments from clinical students before they graduate and enables employer-sponsored student loan repayment after hire to support long-term retention and clinician stability.
Organizations implementing these approaches are seeing strong results. In San Joaquin County, the HealthForce Partners California model helped reduce the clinical vacancy rate from 24% to 4%. Health systems partnering with Clasp see Year 1 turnover rates of approximately 5%, compared to an industry average of more than 20%. The two organizations believe the clinical workforce shortage is not inevitable, but rather the predictable result of underinvestment at two critical points in the pipeline, and it can be reversed when health systems commit to intervening at both.
“We’ve spent years proving in California’s Central Valley that when you invest in clinicians before they graduate, not just after, you get a fundamentally different result. The vacancy crisis in San Joaquin County didn’t fix itself. It changed because the conditions changed. This partnership with Clasp is about taking that logic to scale, so more health systems don’t have to wait years to figure out what we already know works.”
— Dr. Paul Lanning, President & CEO, HealthForce Partners California
“When a health system says to a student, ‘we will help you pay down your loans,’ they’re going beyond post-hire benefits packages and making a sustained demonstration of investment in a clinician’s success. That’s what builds real stability, and sustained loyalty.”
— Tess Michaels, CEO, Clasp
On May 12 at 9am PT / 12pm ET, Clasp CEO Tess Michaels and HealthForce Partners California President & CEO Dr. Paul Lanning will sit down for a live fireside chat to discuss the learnings and opportunities — including what it looks like to address both gaps in practice, and what health systems can do now. The conversation is free and open to health system leaders, workforce development professionals, and anyone working on the clinical pipeline problem. Register at clasp.com/one-crisis-chat.
About HealthForce Partners California
HealthForce Partners California brings together top executives and operational leaders from healthcare, education, and workforce development to craft innovative programs and systems-change strategies that address the staffing priorities of employers while expanding career opportunities for community members.
healthforcepartners.net
About Clasp
Clasp is the retention-driven recruiting platform for hard-to-hire clinical talent. Trusted by leading health systems including Boston Children’s Hospital, Novant Health, and Northwestern Medicine, Clasp helps organizations replace transactional tools like sign-on bonuses — allowing employers to engage with talent early, while still in school, and secure 3+ year work commitments. With more than 10,000 students supported across hundreds of universities and Year 1 turnover rates of ~5%, Clasp is building a smarter, more sustainable approach to clinical workforce development.
clasp.com
Media Contacts
Clasp: clasp@vsc.co
HealthForce Partners California: ali@qaffect.co
Maggie Philbin
Clasp
+1 203-394-1818
email us here
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