Dr. Shortage

[Truth_seeker]

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I just got done reading this very interesting article. I see where a shortage is coming however, the article did not address much in regards to ancillary medical staff such as PA's and NP's. It mentioned them but nothing more than that. I'd be interested to learn how their involvement with primary care and other subspecialties will play out in this role of medical shortages. Anyway, here is the link to the article.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-doctors4jun04,0,1528090.story?coll=la-home-headlines

 

[benelswick]

As far as i know mid level care provider careers are among the fastest growing fields, and have never stopped increasing their roles, scope, utilization and numbers since they began only several decades ago. My prediction...a sharp increase in their demand on top of their normal rate of growth. The can also produce more numbers at a faster rate due to their steamlined clinical education. They'll be winning more turf battles than they are now and the staunch elitist stance of the AMA will not hold water against the rising tide of patient care demands.--ben.

 

[Truth_seeker]

As far as i know mid level care provider careers are among the fastest growing fields, and have never stopped increasing their roles, scope, utilization and numbers since they began only several decades ago. My prediction...a sharp increase in their demand on top of their normal rate of growth. The can also produce more numbers at a faster rate due to their steamlined clinical education. They'll be winning more turf battles than they are now and the staunch elitist stance of the AMA will not hold water against the rising tide of patient care demands.--ben.

Couldn't agree more. While NP's and PA's have a shorter clinical education time, I assume that the learning curve on the job is greater which would mean the supervising doc would have to spend more time in chart review. I'm just assuming though. I do agree that of more the load will fall to them and rightly so. They are well-trained and qualified to care for patients. I venture to say that if med schools start increasing their acceptance rates as well as building more schools, you'll see the same trend in PA schools as well as NP programs.