This week's news that New York University will offer free tuition to all its medical school students, in the hope of encouraging more doctors to choose lower-paying specialties, offered hope to those wishing to pursue a career in the field.
However, becoming a doctor remains one of the most challenging career paths you can embark upon. It requires extensive (and expensive) schooling followed by intensive residencies before you’re fully on your feet. The idea, generally, is that all the hard work will pay off not only financially, but also in terms of job satisfaction and work-life balance; then there’s the immeasurable personal benefits of helping people, and possibly even saving lives. In terms of both nobility and prestige, few occupations rank so highly.
So why is there a waning interest to grow a career as a physician? A recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges projected a shortage of between 42,600 and 121,300 physicians by 2030, up from its 2017 projected shortage of 40,800 to 104,900 doctors.
There appear to be two main factors driving this anticipated doctor drought, as it were: Firstly, young people are becoming less interested in pursuing medical careers with the rise of STEM jobs, a shift that Craig Fowler, regional VP of The Medicus Firm, a national physician search and consulting agency based in Dallas, has noticed.
Fowler does see plenty of doctors in the later stages of their careers hang up their stethoscopes earlier than expected. Some cite electronic health records (EHRs) as part of the reason — especially old school doctors who don’t pride themselves on their computer skills. New research by Stanford Medicine, conducted by The Harris Poll, found that 59 percent think EHRs "need a complete overhaul;" while 40 percent see "more challenges than benefits with EHRs."
“After 20 years, I quit medicine and none of my colleagues were surprised. In fact, they all said they wish they could do the same,” Dr. Amy Baxter told NBC News.
“I began to feel like an easily replaceable cog in the healthcare machine. With the [enforcement] of EHRs, I had to spend more time as a scribe. One night a child I was treating had a seizure and I couldn’t get the medicine to enable them to breathe because their chart wasn’t in the system yet. This kid was fixing to die and I, the doctor, couldn’t get the medicine. It was demoralizing.”
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There is nothing government cant ruin
ReplyDeleteI lived in Budapest for a few years. The government went to universal health care. The first year everybody was happy. At the end of the year the government discovered they had lost a ton of money so the second year they cut expenses by lowering payments to doctors and nurses. After the second year the best doctors and nurses had moved to Brazil and the US.
ReplyDeleteToday Doctors are all a out the money. There are primary doctors who make no decisions as to what is wrong with you. So, they refer you to a specialist. You get referred to a specialist who makes the diagnosis. But, they want he/she buddy, the surgeon to get a piece of the pie. And, while your waiting for a confirmed diagnosis, you will have to go to the emergency room for a co payment plus an EMT ambulance service if you have no one else to take you by ambulance. It's a money racket and it's ashamed. Think about it and wonder why so many people in this so call great country is diagnosed with cancer or any life threatening illness. It all starts with that damn primary doctor.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the money. And most doctors claim they are not being paid enough. But,we got enough Physician Assistants and nurses. The entire medical system is a racket.
Be prepared....in the next several years a trip to the doctor will kill you.
ReplyDelete