Quote:
Originally Posted by crmellon
The problem isn't the school existing, the problem is the potential misuse, manipulation, or degradation of medical training. As it stands, it's the responsibility of the for-profit school to ensure their students get an education better than they can get elsewhere, or else they would go elsewhere (ideally).
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It could end up being a significant social problem if the glut of new schools causes a lot of bright young adults to end up with crushing debt that they will never be able to repay. The DO schools are expanding without regard to the number of residency spots available. At first the only effect will be that more and more people will be forced into primary care even if they hate primary care. Eventually people may not be able to get a residency spot at all, and that's when the REAL problems will begin.
Then we will be in the same position that many unemployed law school graduates currently are in:
http://jdscam.blogspot.com/
The powers that be see a chance to make a big cash grab, so they'll keep opening schools as long as student loans are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy and are given freely without regard to the employment prospects of the degree. Things have ALREADY gotten to the point that some schools have absolutely atrocious clinical rotations (like the stories I've seen on here about people being supervised by non-MDs on rotations).
It is extremely short-sighted to just keep expanding without regard for maintaining a standard of quality and making sure there are enough residency spots for the graduates. It's embarrassing to our profession.