On the Looming Physician Shortage and Strategic Expansion of Graduate Medical Education

Abstract

Among many other things, the novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020 highlighted the significance of physician shortages in the United States. Current projections anticipate a national shortage of up to 122,000 physicians by 2032, with shortfalls in both primary care physicians and specialists. Yet while this figure highlights the magnitude of the problem, it does not capture the distributional aspect of American physician shortages. Though some specialties and geographic areas have a surplus of physicians, others have a chronic undersupply. Appropriately addressing the looming physician shortage therefore requires not only creating more physicians, but also ensuring that those physicians practice in the areas of greatest societal need. This review explores the nature of physician shortages in the United States, identifies the present bottleneck in physician training at the level of graduate medical education, and considers potential legislative and policy solutions to allow strategic and deliberate expansion of graduate medical education and physician practice.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Student Career Perceptions: Perspectives from Medical Students in China

“…Healthcare professionals play a critical role in providing intensive care during the pandemic. In countries that are severely impacted by COVID-19, the surge in cases has led to dwindling healthcare resources and an exhausted workforce [ 2 , 3 ]. In China, the shortage of healthcare professionals is an issue that has long been at the forefront of the healthcare industry prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

<p>Chronic Noncancer Pain Management and Systemic Racism: Time to Move Toward Equal Care Standards</p>

“…172 Accordingly, recent calls for a more direct financial benefit are being made, 173 with Ahmed and Carmody recently opining that providing financial compensation or expanding loan forgiveness programs for physicians entering practice in the most needed specialties or areas would create a powerful incentive to encourage doctors to work in the areas of greatest societal need. (p. 5) 172 Given the relative shortage of BIPOC pain physicians, we posit that such direct financial incentivization for BIPOC physicians to enter pain medicine training programs will be imperative as a step toward reducing systemic racism in pain medicine and improving the care that BIPOC patients receive. Similarly, BIPOC nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, all others who treat chronic pain, and students in these fields should also be directly incentivized to level the playing field.…”

Willingness of Medical Undergraduates to Work as Volunteers for anti-epidemic of COVID-19: Reflections on Medical Education in the post-epidemic era of China

“…Meanwhile, medical services are under pressure as cases surge in countries across the world which leads to the global shortage of medical personnel (6). Nearly all countries (90%) have experienced disruption to health services, with low and middle-income countries reporting the greatest di culties(7).…”