A study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reiterates what we already know – that a looming shortage of general practitioners will contribute to a possible health crisis in the coming years as the average age of Americans increase. A poll of US medical students show that only 2% plan on becoming general practitioners due to worries about having to care for elderly patients with complicated illnesses. In addition, students complained that internal medicine required more paperwork, a greater breadth of knowledge and pay less than more lucrative specialties. “The number of older adults in the United States is expected to nearly double between the years 2005 and 2030, and one planning model predicts that the United States will have 200,000 too few physicians by 2020,” they wrote. Full story.
Tags: doctors, general practitioner, GP, Health Care, internal medicine, shortage
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.