Endocrine News Podcast · Endocrine Society

ENP111: Addressing the Endocrine Workforce Shortage

February 25, 2026·30 min·3 clips

The episode returns to the workforce shortage as a problem of clinical access. Aaron Lohr opens by asking whether advanced practice providers can ease pressure on endocrinologists if they get more focused training. He presents the new certificate as part of that response. Dr. Sarah McLeod and Dr. Shannon Isaac explain how the Endocrine Society and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners developed the Clinical Advantage Endocrinology Certificate for advanced practice providers. The discussion explores what the certificate is meant to communicate for clinicians and patients alike, and how the program functions in practice. McLeod describes endocrinology as a field where people often build deep expertise in one area. Isaac draws a similar line for nurse practitioners and says specialization can grow out of real interest instead of a one-size-fits-all model of care. Both guests point to diabetes as a clear example of narrow focus that still demands broad clinical understanding. They treat patient education as part of the job, not an add-on. The conversation keeps circling back to the value of helping patients make sense of confusing disease processes in language they can actually use. That focus gives the episode a practical, steady tone. McLeod describes settings where APPs are already part of endocrine care, including inpatient diabetes coverage and outpatient follow-up. Those examples make the case that collaboration can be routine rather than unusual. Isaac and McLeod also note that not every practice has the same level of integration or the same access to training. That distinction matters because the success of any certificate depends on local support, time, and a practice environment that can train and use APPs well. The episode keeps returning to the idea that APPs can take on meaningful responsibility when they are prepared for the right work and placed in the right setting. It treats the certificate as one way to expand capacity while keeping endocrinology expertise at the center. The closing exchange leaves the listener with a clear sense that the program is meant to help both the clinicians who take it and the patients they serve.

As heard by us

A practical look at expanding endocrine care while the staffing gap still hangs over it.

Endocrine staffing shortages are treated here as a real access problem, and this conversation revolves around a new Clinical Advantage Endocrinology Certificate for advanced practice providers. Aaron Lohr introduces the program, while Dr. Sarah McLeod and Dr.

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Trying to stretch endocrine expertise without lowering the bar?

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