Is there a need for more doctors?

[Teragen]

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Do you think there is going to be a need for more doctors in the oncoming years? I know there is going to be a demand for nurses, but what about doctors?

 

[Rendar5]

Give it 20 more years. These things seem to go in cycles.

 

[lane]

the baby boomers are getting old, plus you always have a need in underdeveloped areas (like southwest texas).

 

[SunnyS81]

Demand is geographic. Yes, there will always be a demand SOMEWHERE. On teh other hand, medicine is controlled and competitive, so your going into medicine doesn't increase the supply, you just become part of the constant supply. If you don't go to med school, someone will be glad to take your spot.

 

[Xega]

The number of medical school spots hasn't changed too much over the years, so I would wager that the number of people retiring in any given year is similar to the number of people coming into the field that year. But like someone said above, the number of baby boomers getting old is very large so in ten, fifteen years the need for doctors will be high.

 

[neel07054]

with the coming of the large baby boomer population, i'm sure there'll be a pretty good demand for doctors in the coming years....i mean right now, medicine is a limited profession, not everyone who applies is getting in. Maybe once the demand rises, more of us can become doctors!

 

[NDESTRUKT]

there's an article in JAMA about shortage of doctors coming up...go to AMA and search for it.

there will never be doctors laid off lol

 

[SunnyS81]

It should be noted that some markest are flooded (Bay area), and as a result pay is extremely low (last I heard stanford was hiring pediatricians at $80k). Even with the baby boomers, I'll be suprised if the demand equals elsewhere.

 

[Gleevec]

Sunny will definitely know more about this than I, but in addition to geographic maldistribution, there is also a differential demand for specialties in different areas and at different times.

I know there are some studies out there saying there is a shortage of general practioners and primary care physicians, and that the HMO system has fostered a growth in these more fundamental disciplines. Some specialties are supposed to bloom like cardiology, oncology, geriatrics, as the population gets older. But for real info, I think there are some actual studies that take a look at this, and Im sure some of the wiser med students will know where to point ya.

 

[beastmaster]

Folks, don't kid yourselves with this geographic nonsense.

There is UNLIMITED demand for medical service.

 

[mlw03]

speaking of these geographic shortages, i am sure they exist. it's probably not easy to convince someone as educated and sophisticated to go live in rural communities. pay and lifestyle in such a place would presumably be much less than someone "groomed" for medicine would expect.

as for specialties, i would think that part of the reason we're seeing fewer general practitioners is because med school is expensive. it'd be rough paying $250K in med school debt on a 90K/year family medicine doctor (perhaps less in a rural place). people have no choice but to go into more lucrative specialties.

slightly off this topic but certainly related, i have heard of deals where you can go serve in a rural community and they will then pay your school debt. i don't need details quite yet, but does anyone know if such programs really exist?

 

[ornis4]

I just read a book the other day saying how many specialties are overcrowded, and that primary care was in greatest demand. Thus recent pay increases have been by far the highest for primary care in terms of percentage, while some specialty salaries have actually dropped slightly. Not sure about reimbursement for med school in exchange for serving a rural area though, sounds like an interesting idea.

 

[MoCookiess]

I've heard some about the rural medicine compensation , but I'd really be interested in some more information. Anybody know of a good link? I'll go search SDN, and I'll repost if I find anything relevant.

 

[Jamaican MD]

There's definitely a need in underserved rural and urban areas. Also, with new technological advances being made, more doctors are becoming specialized in that they perform newer, better, non-invasive techniques. So there will be a need for more docs to learn/discover these new techniques.

 

[steve007]

what you guys are talking about is the national health service scholarship. if you check the financial aid forum, you'll find info about it.

 

[MichiMO]

Originally posted by mlw03


as for specialties, i would think that part of the reason we're seeing fewer general practitioners is because med school is expensive. it'd be rough paying $250K in med school debt on a 90K/year family medicine doctor (perhaps less in a rural place). people have no choice but to go into more lucrative specialties.

Part of the problem might also be that people don't really know how much a family practice doc makes. Check out the statistics on the AMA website or just do your own google search.

The lowest salery reported in Family practice was 110,000$ per year (take home...after insurance and all that stuff). The average was 140,000, with some people making up to 190,000 anually. For other "primary care" specialities, such as ob/gyn, the saleries were almost double.

So lets just take the average, 140,000$ anually. You can live nicely on 70-80,000 per year (certainly much much nicer than you were living as a student or a resident). If you just budgeted the rest of your salery to paying off your loans, they would be paid back within 3-4 years. Factor that in with the shorter residency of primary care specialities and you will probably be living a lot nicer, taking home a lot more money sooner, than many of the people who go into the higher paying specialities.

My point: don't rule out any specialty you might enjoy based on money alone. No matter what specialty you go into, you are going to be doing well financially.

 

[bullhorn]

I have a question that might seem silly. But, what are the requirements to be a 'general practitioner'....what type of residency? I never see residencies for just general practice...is it just an IM residency?

Someone enlighten me please.

 

[dara678]

For the National Health Service Scholarship, you have a general practitioner or an ob/gyn. If you're accepted to the scholarship and then decide you want to do neurosurgery, you'll have to pay back what they gave you plus a very significant amount (i think almost double). It's a great opportunity, but it also has lots of restrictions.

Can anyone talk about the benefits of going into rural communities? Idon't know much about the topic.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by bullhorn
I have a question that might seem silly. But, what are the requirements to be a 'general practitioner'....what type of residency? I never see residencies for just general practice...is it just an IM residency?

Someone enlighten me please.

Technically, a general practitioner is someone who only completed a 1 year internship.

However, the term is often used to mean FP, IM (general), and Peds.