by
Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | April 24, 2014
The shortage of primary care physicians has been a problem in the U.S. for some time. A George Washington University study published in September found that the primary care workforce makes up only 33 percent of doctors practicing medicine, but needs to be at 40 percent to meet the country’s health care needs. Additionally, the current workforce in rural areas is 10 percent, but 20 percent of the population lives there.
This disparity calls for a medical education system that puts a bigger emphasis on social mission, says Dr. Candice Chen of George Washington University. Students should understand that being a doctor is not just about making a good income; it’s also about serving a community and ensuring its health. Chen spoke with DOTmed HealthCare Business News about the challenges medical students will face in the next few years and the direction medical education needs to start going in.
What lies ahead?
Primary care is not one of the popular residencies students apply for and it’s largely because specialty care jobs come with a much higher paycheck.
An orthopedic surgeon makes on average $450,000 a year, but a primary care doctor will make about $160,000. “The gap is a real problem and that gap reflects how we pay for health care,” says Chen.
“The interesting thing is that payment system changes are happening as we speak, the move toward Accountable Care Organizations, shared savings programs, all of those things are about changing the incentives in the system,” she says. It’s creating a greater need for primary care because if people have access to more preventative care it can potentially prevent costly medical problems.
Still, interest in specialty care has caused the competition for postgraduate residencies to heat up and many U.S. medical students are fearful that there won’t be positions available for them when they get out. But that doesn’t seem to be true right now, says Chen.
Many medical students are applying for dermatology programs for example, but they might not land a position because it’s so competitive, says Chen. But if the students instead apply for primary care programs it’s likely that they will match.
“The squeeze is going to be hard, but to a certain degree it has to happen,” says Chen. “Residency programs aren’t there to provide a market for medical students who want to do whatever they want to do, the residency programs are there to produce the workforce to take care of America.”
Getting social-minded
