The Challenge To Educate Enough Doctors
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The nation is short on doctors and although 48,000 people applied to medical school last year for approximately 20,000 seats, admission is highly competitive.
Harvard only enrolled 2.3% and next year the admissions exam will be two hours longer, with two-thirds of graduates having at least $150,000 in education debt.
The good news is that schools are adding seats and residencies in which medical school grads receive advanced clinical training are expanding as well.
With people living longer the demand will rise for cardiologists, endocrinologists, neurologists and oncologists in addition to orthopedic surgeons for hip and knee replacements. Now pediatricians, primary care doctors and psychiatrists are needed, although those jobs don't pay as well.
But a trend, according to an article in The New York Times, is that more doctors are forming and taking jobs in large-group practices instead of meeting financial risks alone.