What does the workforce data say about the four academic medical centers?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
One-line read: across the four AMCs, attrition runs 5-6% (lowest in the six-system comparison set), top growing skills are clinical-assist only, and none of the four has digital, AI, or informatics in its top growing-skills mix — Kaiser has all four.
Three numbers, each given for all six systems:
- Talent Moat Score (/100): Kaiser 73, HCA 67, Penn 68, Cedars 63, UNC 62, UCLA 58. The four AMCs sit between 58 and 68; Kaiser leads the six-system set. - Annual attrition: Cedars 5%, UCLA 6%, UNC 6%, Penn 6%, Kaiser 14%, HCA 18%. The four AMCs run the lowest attrition in the set. - Top growing-skill category: AMCs all clinical-assist (Phlebotomy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Tech, CNA; UCLA's Cerner +2% the only digital-adjacent signal). Kaiser: Telehealth +48%, Health Informatics +35%, AI +28%. HCA: Telehealth +42%, AI +35%.
Headline workforce snapshot — the four AMCs: - Cedars-Sinai: 17,000 employees, 1,585 hires (9% of base), 5% attrition - UCLA Health: 18,000 employees, 1,715 hires (10% of base), 6% attrition - UNC Health: 14,000 employees, 1,762 hires (13% of base), 6% attrition - Penn Medicine: 22,000 employees, 2,376 hires (11% of base), 6% attrition
Compared to the four AMCs, Kaiser and HCA operate at different scale and turnover: - Kaiser Permanente: 120,000 employees, ~18,000 hires (15% of base), 14% attrition - HCA Healthcare: 90,000 employees, ~14,000 hires (16% of base), 18% attrition
Top growing skills by system:
- Cedars-Sinai: Medical Assisting +6%, CNA +5%, Vital Signs +5%, Nursing +5%, Working with Physicians +5% - UCLA Health: Mfg Process Improvement +4%, Cancer Research +4%, CNA +3%, Pharmacy +3%, Cerner +2% - UNC Health: Phlebotomy +7%, Clinical Monitoring +7%, Nursing +6%, Medical Assisting +5%, CNA +5% - Penn Medicine: Pharmacy Technicians +9%, Medical Assisting +9%, Pharmacy Automation +9%, Patient Support +8%, CNA +8% - Kaiser Permanente: Telehealth +48%, Health Informatics +35%, Data Analytics +30%, AI in Healthcare +28%, Population Health Management +22% - HCA Healthcare: Telehealth +42%, AI in Healthcare +35%, Revenue Cycle Mgmt +28%
Talent Moat Score detail. The composite combines five dimensions (each /20): acquisition velocity, retention, skills momentum, hiring intent, pedigree. Kaiser leads at 73; Penn at 68 is the top AMC. Kaiser scores 18/20 on both skills momentum and acquisition velocity; the four AMCs score 18-19/20 on retention but 7-8/20 on skills momentum.
Academic Medical Centers — Headline Workforce Snapshot
5%
Cedars-Sinai
Annual attrition rate
6%
UCLA Health
Annual attrition rate
6%
UNC Health
Annual attrition rate
6%
Penn Medicine
Annual attrition rate
14%
Kaiser Permanente
Annual attrition rate
18%
HCA Healthcare
Annual attrition rate
Retention vs. Growing-Skill Mix — Side by Side
System
Attrition
Annual Hires
AI / Digital Skills Build
Workforce Profile
Cedars-Sinai
5%
1,585
Medical Assisting +6%, CNA +5% (clinical-assist only)
Lowest score — published open jobs (17) anomalously low; flag for confirmation
Talent Moat Score — Methodology
Dimension
Scale
What it measures from the talent data
Acquisition
/20
Annual hiring volume + quality of inflow sources (premium academic vs regional only)
Retention
/20
Attrition rate scored across the six-system comparison set (AMCs 5-6%, Kaiser 14%, HCA 18%)
Skills Momentum
/20
Growth in skills relevant to next-decade healthcare delivery (telehealth, AI, informatics, RCM, data analytics)
Hiring Intent
/20
Open jobs as % of headcount — leading indicator of capacity for active expansion
Pedigree
/20
Top-5 school quality + national vs regional brand reach in the recruiting funnel
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Analyst
Walk me through each AMC individually — where do the four diverge in the talent data?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
UCLA Health — Top Talent Flows
Hiring From
UCLA
34
Cedars-Sinai
21
Providence
17
Kaiser Permanente
12
Stanford Health Care
11
UCLA Health
Departures To
24Cedars-Sinai
17Kaiser Permanente
16UCLA
12Providence
6UCI Health
Cedars-Sinai — Top Talent Flows
Hiring From
UCLA Health
23
Kaiser Permanente
22
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
16
Providence
10
City of Hope
9
Cedars-Sinai
Departures To
19UCLA Health
14City of Hope
9Providence
8Kaiser Permanente
7Torrance Memorial
UNC Health — Top Talent Flows
Hiring From
UNC Chapel Hill
25
Duke University Health System
23
UNC Health Rex
22
WakeMed
16
Cone Health
13
UNC Health
Departures To
25Duke University Health System
11Novant Health
11UNC Health Rex
11WakeMed
9Atrium Health
Penn Medicine — Top Talent Flows
Hiring From
Jefferson Health
62
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
40
Main Line Health
33
University of Pennsylvania
27
RITE AID
15
Penn Medicine
Departures To
38Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
34Jefferson Health
27Main Line Health
13University of Pennsylvania
13Temple Health
The four systems look similar at the headline but diverge in the talent-flow patterns and recruiting sources.
Penn Medicine has the highest hiring volume. 2,376 hires (38% more than UCLA's 1,715), with regional pipelines — top inflows from Jefferson Health (62), CHOP (40), Main Line Health (33). Top outflows: CHOP (38), Jefferson (34). Penn's inflow and outflow concentrate in the Philadelphia ecosystem.
UCLA Health draws its #1 inflow from its own academic side. 34 hires from UCLA (the academic university and medical school) — the largest single inflow source for UCLA Health, and the only AMC in the four where the parent university is the #1 source. #2 inflow: Cedars-Sinai (21). #3: Providence (17). UCLA is a two-front net loser in LA: net -3 to Cedars-Sinai (21 in / 24 out) and net -5 to Kaiser (12 in / 17 out). UCLA is also the only AMC with a non-clinical skill in its top growing skills (Mfg Process Improvement +4%) and the only AMC with a digital-adjacent skill in the mix (Cerner +2%).
Cedars-Sinai has the lowest attrition (5%) and the most diversified inflow. Inflows from UCLA Health (23), Kaiser Permanente (22), Children's Hospital LA (16), Providence (10), City of Hope (9). Outflows to UCLA Health (19), City of Hope (14), Providence (9), Kaiser Permanente (8). Cedars is a net gainer from Kaiser (22 in / 8 out = net +14) — the only AMC in the LA market with positive net flow from Kaiser. Cedars is a net loser to City of Hope (9 in / 14 out — cancer specialists).
UNC Health's inflows and outflows concentrate locally. Top inflows: UNC university (25), Duke Health (23), UNC Health Rex (22 — internal), WakeMed (16). Top outflows: Duke (25), Novant (11), WakeMed (11). The Duke-UNC flow is symmetrical at 23-25 in each direction.
Across the four: Penn's flows are regional and high-volume. UCLA draws #1 from itself and is a two-front net loser to Cedars and Kaiser. Cedars has the most diversified inflow mix and is a net gainer from Kaiser. UNC's flows sit inside a Duke-UNC two-system labor market.
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Analyst
Kaiser runs higher attrition than the four AMCs (14% vs 5-6%). What else does Kaiser's workforce data show?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
Kaiser's 14% attrition is higher than the AMCs' 5-6%. The rest of Kaiser's workforce data is at a different scale and skill mix.
Kaiser is hiring 18,000 people a year — more than 6x Penn's 2,376. Net of 14% attrition on a 120,000-person base, Kaiser is net-adding ~10,000 employees annually. The four AMCs combined add roughly 7,400 a year.
Kaiser's growing-skill mix: Telehealth (+48%), Health Informatics (+35%), Data Analytics (+30%), AI in Healthcare (+28%), Population Health Management (+22%). No clinical specialty appears in Kaiser's top growing skills.
Kaiser's talent inflows: 480 from Sutter, 320 from Stanford Health Care, 280 from Dignity, 240 from UCSF. UCSF lost 240 people to Kaiser in the trailing 12 months.
The AMCs' growing-skill mix is concentrated in clinical-assist roles (Phlebotomy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technicians, CNA). Health informatics, telehealth, data analytics, and AI in healthcare do not appear in any of the four AMCs' top growing skills.
HCA: 14,000 hires/year, AI in Healthcare +35%, Telehealth +42%, Revenue Cycle Mgmt +28%. Same skill-growth shape as Kaiser at smaller volume.
Summary of the AMC-vs-Kaiser/HCA comparison in the data: AMCs lower attrition, lower absolute hiring volume, growing-skill mix concentrated in clinical-assist; Kaiser/HCA higher attrition, higher absolute hiring volume, growing-skill mix concentrated in digital/informatics/AI.
Annual Hiring Comparison — AMC vs Integrated Models
System
Annual Hires
Attrition
Net Adds (est.)
What They're Building
Kaiser Permanente
18,000
14%
~10,400
Telehealth, AI, Informatics, Data
HCA Healthcare
14,000
18%
~5,200
Telehealth, AI, Revenue Cycle
Penn Medicine
2,376
6%
~1,800
Clinical specialties (legacy)
UNC Health
1,762
6%
~1,300
Clinical specialties (legacy)
UCLA Health
1,715
6%
~1,300
Clinical specialties (legacy)
Cedars-Sinai
1,585
5%
~1,200
Clinical specialties (legacy)
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Analyst
What does the school data show about each system's recruiting pipeline?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
The four AMCs draw from regional schools. The school mix is concentrated within each system's home market.
Top hiring schools by system:
- UCLA Health: UCLA, Cal State Northridge, USC, Cal State Long Beach, West Coast University. All Southern California. - Cedars-Sinai: UCLA, USC, Cal State Northridge, West Coast University, Western Governors. Same LA market plus WGU (online). - UNC Health: UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina, NC State, Wake Tech CC, UNC Wilmington. All North Carolina. - Penn Medicine: Penn, Temple, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Penn State. All Pennsylvania.
Kaiser's top schools: UCLA, UCSF, Cal State, USC, University of Washington. Regional clinical schools plus UCSF and UW.
HCA's top schools: Vanderbilt, UT, U. of Florida, Belmont, Lipscomb. Regional Tennessee/Texas/Florida plus Vanderbilt.
None of the four AMCs' top-school lists includes a computer science / engineering program. Kaiser's list includes UW; HCA's includes Vanderbilt.
Top 5 Schools — Talent Pipeline Source by System
System
School 1
School 2
School 3
Geographic Reach
UCLA Health
UCLA
Cal State Northridge
USC
LA regional only
Cedars-Sinai
UCLA
USC
Cal State Northridge
LA regional only
UNC Health
UNC Chapel Hill
East Carolina
NC State
NC only
Penn Medicine
Penn
Temple
Drexel
Philly ecosystem only
Kaiser Permanente
UCLA
UCSF
U. of Washington
Multi-region, tech-adjacent
HCA Healthcare
Vanderbilt
U. of Texas
U. of Florida
Multi-state, regional anchors
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Analyst
Stack-rank the biggest gaps the talent data shows across the four AMCs. What does the data flag, in order?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
Stack-ranked, the largest gaps in the four-AMC talent data:
Gap 1: digital / AI / informatics growing-skill mix. None of the four AMCs has Health Informatics, Telehealth, Data Analytics, or AI in Healthcare in its top growing skills. Kaiser has all four (+35%, +48%, +30%, +28%); HCA has AI in Healthcare +35% and Telehealth +42%. The single most digital-adjacent skill at any of the four AMCs is UCLA's Cerner at +2%.
Gap 2: talent outflow to integrated systems, not peer AMCs. Kaiser pulled 480 from Sutter, 320 from Stanford Health Care, 280 from Dignity, 240 from UCSF in the trailing 12 months. UCLA lost a net 5 to Kaiser; Cedars lost a net 14 to City of Hope. The named outflow concentrations sit with Kaiser, HCA, and disease-specific competitors — not with other AMCs.
Gap 3: regional CS / engineering school pipeline. None of the four AMCs' top hiring schools is a CS or engineering program. Kaiser's top-school list includes University of Washington; HCA's includes Vanderbilt.
Where the data is strongest. Clinical attrition runs 5-6% across all four AMCs — the lowest in the six-system comparison set (Kaiser 14%, HCA 18%). No system in the dataset matches it.
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Analyst
Pull up the Open-to-Work signal across the four AMCs.
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
The four AMCs run 5–6% attrition and 26–31% LinkedIn-visible Open-to-Work share.
The four-AMC OTW landscape: - UNC Health: 31% OTW (4,300 of 14,000) — highest rate of the four. - Penn Medicine: 28% OTW (6,100 of 22,000) — largest absolute pool of the four. - Cedars-Sinai: 26% OTW (4,400 of 17,000) — tied for lowest rate, paired with the lowest attrition (5%). - UCLA Health: 26% OTW (4,700 of 18,000) — tied for lowest rate. 17 rediscovered candidates — highest of the four. UCLA also has the lowest Nursing OTW share of the four (33% vs Cedars 39%, Penn 36%, UNC 39%).
Attrition measures realized departures. OTW measures self-signaled openness to leaving. The two numbers diverge by a factor of ~5x across the four-AMC set.
Cedars-Sinai's 13 rediscovered candidates by function (LinkedIn Recruiter, 2026-05-06). 9 of 13 sit in Healthcare Management. Pulling each role:
- 3 in IT / Digital — Application Architect (MyChart + Ambulatory, Epic + AWS certified), Senior Application Analyst, Senior UX Research Lead. - 2 in senior executive — Managing Director, GCC (Cedars' Qatar operation); Non Executive Director on the board side. - 1 in operations leadership — Associate Director, Culinary. - 1 in business development — Physician Liaison. - 2 in clinical specialist — EEG Technologist II and an ER Nurse.
Six of nine sit in non-clinical roles (IT/digital, executive, operations, BD).
Other AMCs' rediscovered pools: Penn 7 (spread across functions). UNC 6 (smallest of four). UCLA 17 spanning 8 in Patient Care, 12 in Healthcare, 7 in Healthcare Management — the largest pool of the four and the most diffuse skill distribution (vs Cedars' 9-of-13 concentration in Healthcare Management).
The skill-level OTW breakdown follows.
Cedars-Sinai — 9 Rediscovered Healthcare Management Candidates by Function (LinkedIn Recruiter, 2026-05-06)
Functional category
Count
Specific roles inside Cedars
What it signals
IT / Digital
3
Application Architect (Epic + AWS); Sr Application Analyst; Sr UX Research Lead
The exact digital-workforce roles all four AMCs are nationally short on
Senior Executive
2
Managing Director, GCC (Qatar operation); Non Executive Director
Show me the skill-level Open-to-Work pattern across all four. Where is the signal concentrated?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
The skill mix is consistent across the four AMCs. Medical Records leads OTW% at every system — 48% at UCLA and Cedars, 51% at Penn, 55% at UNC.
Skill-by-skill OTW% across the four AMCs: - Medical Records: 48–55% — highest single-skill rate at every system. - Patient Care: 37–41% — bedside roles, the largest absolute pool (2,000–2,900 OTW per system). UNC and Penn at 40%+. - Patient Safety: 35–41% — UNC at 41% (highest of four). - Healthcare Management: 34–37% — Cedars lowest at 34%. - Pharmacy: 33–39% — Penn at 39% with 464 OTW pharmacists; UCLA and Cedars at 33–34%. - Nursing: 33–39% — UNC, Cedars, Penn at 36–39%; UCLA at 33% (lowest). - Clinical Research: 27–33% — lowest-OTW skill at every system.
OTW pools by absolute size: UNC 1,500 OTW nurses, Penn 2,300 OTW nurses, Cedars 1,800 OTW Patient Care staff.
The detail by AMC follows.
UCLA Health Open-to-Work Aggregate (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
18,000
Employees on LinkedIn
Total UCLA Health captured profiles
4,700
Open to Work
26% of captured profiles
807
Active talent
4% — actively job-searching
17
Rediscovered candidates
Engaged with recruiters previously
UCLA Health Open-to-Work by Skill (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
Skill
Captured
Open to Work
% OTW
Active talent
% Active
Nursing
3,600
1,200
33%
197
5%
Patient Care
5,400
2,000
37%
438
8%
Healthcare
7,900
2,700
34%
554
7%
Healthcare Management
4,100
1,500
37%
373
9%
Patient Safety
2,200
841
38%
189
9%
Clinical Research
4,200
1,200
29%
298
7%
Medical Records
1,300
619
48%
135
10%
Pharmacy
623
213
34%
58
9%
UNC Health Open-to-Work Aggregate (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
14,000
Employees on LinkedIn
Total UNC Health captured profiles
4,300
Open to Work
31% of captured profiles
700
Active talent
5% — actively job-searching
6
Rediscovered candidates
Engaged with recruiters previously
UNC Health Open-to-Work by Skill (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
Skill
Captured
Open to Work
% OTW
Active talent
% Active
Nursing
3,800
1,500
39%
235
6%
Patient Care
4,400
1,800
41%
369
8%
Healthcare
5,300
1,800
34%
408
8%
Healthcare Management
3,600
1,300
36%
340
9%
Patient Safety
1,900
780
41%
181
10%
Clinical Research
2,200
729
33%
190
9%
Medical Records
1,100
609
55%
145
13%
Pharmacy
957
345
36%
90
9%
Cedars-Sinai Open-to-Work Aggregate (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
17,000
Employees on LinkedIn
Total Cedars-Sinai captured profiles
4,400
Open to Work
26% of captured profiles
757
Active talent
4% — actively job-searching
13
Rediscovered candidates
Engaged with recruiters previously
Cedars-Sinai Open-to-Work by Skill (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
Skill
Captured
Open to Work
% OTW
Active talent
% Active
Nursing
3,600
1,400
39%
226
6%
Patient Care
4,800
1,800
38%
393
8%
Healthcare
5,300
1,800
34%
428
8%
Healthcare Management
3,800
1,300
34%
348
9%
Patient Safety
2,100
792
38%
172
8%
Clinical Research
3,700
1,000
27%
277
7%
Medical Records
1,100
528
48%
132
12%
Pharmacy
731
241
33%
43
6%
Penn Medicine Open-to-Work Aggregate (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
22,000
Employees on LinkedIn
Total Penn Medicine captured profiles
6,100
Open to Work
28% of captured profiles
999
Active talent
5% — actively job-searching
7
Rediscovered candidates
Engaged with recruiters previously
Penn Medicine Open-to-Work by Skill (LinkedIn Recruiter, May 1 2026 data)
Skill
Captured
Open to Work
% OTW
Active talent
% Active
Nursing
6,400
2,300
36%
372
6%
Patient Care
7,300
2,900
40%
552
8%
Healthcare
7,600
2,600
34%
577
8%
Healthcare Management
5,300
1,900
36%
473
9%
Patient Safety
3,400
1,200
35%
261
8%
Clinical Research
4,500
1,200
27%
308
7%
Medical Records
1,500
761
51%
165
11%
Pharmacy
1,200
464
39%
111
9%
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Analyst
Which chart in the LinkedIn data best summarizes the four-AMC vs Kaiser comparison?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
Annual net workforce additions, by system. Kaiser net-adds ~10,400 people a year. HCA ~5,200. The four AMCs combined net-add ~5,600 (Penn 1,800, UNC 1,300, UCLA 1,300, Cedars 1,200).
The gap is sharper once growing-skills are layered in. Kaiser's net-adds are concentrated in Telehealth (+48%), Health Informatics (+35%), Data Analytics (+30%), AI in Healthcare (+28%). The four AMCs' net-adds are concentrated in clinical-assist roles — Pharmacy Tech, Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy, CNA. The single most digital-adjacent skill across the four AMCs is UCLA's Cerner at +2%.
Two supporting numbers from the talent flow data: 320 employees moved from Stanford Health Care to Kaiser in the trailing 12 months; 240 from UCSF Health to Kaiser in the same window.
Overall, what's the portfolio-level read on the four AMCs?
LinkedIn Talent Data Insights
Two findings hold across the four systems in the LinkedIn talent data.
One: clinical attrition runs 5-6% across all four. UCLA, UNC, Cedars, Penn cluster at the low end of the six-system set (Kaiser 14%, HCA 18%). The four-AMC retention number is the lowest in the comparison set.
Two: none of the four AMCs has digital, AI, or informatics skills in its top growing-skills mix. UCLA, UNC, Cedars, and Penn's top growing skills are clinical-assist roles — Phlebotomy, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technicians, CNA. Kaiser's top growing skills include Telehealth +48%, Health Informatics +35%, AI in Healthcare +28%, Data Analytics +30%. HCA's include AI in Healthcare +35%, Telehealth +42%.
System-by-system, from the LinkedIn data:
- Penn Medicine: highest hiring volume (2,376/year). 6,100 OTW (28%) — the largest absolute pool in the four-AMC set. Talent Moat Score 68 — top AMC. - UCLA Health: Talent Moat Score 58 — lowest of the four AMCs. #1 inflow source is UCLA itself (34 hires from the academic side) — only AMC in the four where the parent university is the #1 source. Net -3 to Cedars (24 out, 21 in), net -5 to Kaiser (17 out, 12 in). Only AMC with a non-clinical skill (Mfg Process Improvement +4%) and a digital-adjacent skill (Cerner +2%) in its top growing-skills mix. 17 rediscovered candidates — highest of the four; the lowest Nursing OTW share (33%) of the four. - Cedars-Sinai: 5% attrition (lowest of four), 26% OTW (tied lowest), most diversified inflow mix. Only AMC that is a net gainer from Kaiser (22 in, 8 out = net +14). 9 of 13 rediscovered candidates in Healthcare Management, of which 3 are in IT/Digital roles (Application Architect, Sr Application Analyst, UX Research Lead). City of Hope inflow from Cedars: 14 in trailing 12 months. - UNC Health: 31% OTW (highest of four). Medical Records 55% OTW (highest single-skill OTW rate in the four-AMC set). Duke-UNC flow: 23 in, 25 out.
Four AMCs at a Glance — Signal Summary
System
Strongest Signal
Weakest Signal
Penn Medicine
Highest hiring volume (2,376/yr); top inflows Jefferson, CHOP, Main Line
No CS/Eng school in top-5 hiring sources; 6,100 OTW (28%) — largest absolute pool
UCLA Health
#1 inflow = UCLA itself (34/yr); only AMC with digital-adjacent skill in top growing (Cerner +2%); 17 rediscovered candidates — highest of four
Talent Moat Score 58 — lowest of four AMCs; net -5 to Kaiser, -3 to Cedars; published open jobs (17) anomalously low for 18K-employee system
Cedars-Sinai
5% attrition (lowest of four); 26% OTW (lowest rate); most diversified inflow mix
9 of 13 rediscovered candidates in Healthcare Management
UNC Health
Duke-UNC exchange (23 in, 25 out); single-state pipeline
31% OTW (highest of four); Medical Records 55% OTW
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