i'm pretty sure they do have programs like this. I'm not sure where that quote came from or what area you are talking about....but
http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/
I'm sure there are more, this is just the first thing that popped up on google.
You're right, these programs DO exist. However, the problem is that they pay doctors/nurses to go to clinics that have already been established by the community, the state, or the federal government. They do not repay loans to people who open their own clinic. Plus, these programs are only for primary care; the problem in rural areas is frequently getting to see a specialist (who are not financially incentivized to go to such rural places).
Sucks.
🙁
I have relatives that are physicians in Germany - it is a 6 year program there with a equal length (roughly) in terms of residency and fellowship training
If you have the passion and desire to truly practice medicine - then you should be able to accept a career as a physician being equivalent to serving on the Americorps/Peacecorps as your career - the pay is enough for you to live on and do something you enjoy, and nothing more and nothing less!
So, you have to understand a few things.
a) The training is roughly equal in length in terms of YEARS. I can guarantee you that, by hours, it is nowhere near equal. I somehow find it difficult to believe that German physicians-in-training are pulling 80 hour weeks like their American counterparts frequently have to do.
b) The debt issue has already been discussed. Enough said.
c) I would be VERY happy to PRACTICE MEDICINE for $50K a year. However, in America (as opposed to Germany), most doctors spend a lot of their time dealing with paperwork headaches, and not practicing medicine.
Doctors spend a lot of time fighting with insurance companies, sending in paperwork to insurance companies, begging insurance companies to approve a certain medication or test for their patients. They also spend a lot of time writing really long progress notes (mine are typically around 2 pages) for EVERY patient seen in the office - if they don't, they don't get paid at all.
Finally, doctors in America have to spend A LOT of time trying to avoid getting sued. It's terrible, but true. You spend a lot of time counseling patients, so that they can't sue you. Then you spend even more time documenting everything that you said, again, so that they can't sue you. You order unnecessary tests to avoid getting sued. And then, still, at the end of the day, you're still afraid that you might get sued anyway.
For all these paperwork headaches, insurance headaches, bureaucracy headaches, and stress about getting sued, do I think I deserve to get paid over $100K a year? ABSOLUTELY.
If the ONLY thing I had to do as a doctor was see patients, try to make them better, and actually be a DOCTOR, then yes, $50K would be enough (provided that I didn't have crazy high loans from med school). But for the amount of stress I am put under to help my boss make a profit, to make sure that my patients get the basic medications/tests that they need, and to make sure that no one gets sued, do I deserve a lot more money? You better believe that I do.
laptops/computers are to be used for many years until they break down...etc etc.
In the US, the government will actually start to deduct money if you don't have an electronic system to write progress notes on your patient. In order to run a modern electronic charting system, you need...you guessed it...new laptops/computers, that frequently have to be replaced.
Your idea of being frugal and not being wasteful is a great one, but in the US, sometimes it's just not feasible.
