Alarming decrease of family physician graduates each year
Job Search July 29th, 2008Decreasing numbers of medical students are choosing to be family physicians each year. In fact Kurt Mosley writes in Recruiting Trends, “An alarming number of family practice training positions (16 percent) went unfilled last year.” Over half of the students who graduated in family practice and started their practice in the United States were from foreign medical schools.
Why are medical students not choosing to be family physicians?
- 57% of doctors aged 50-65 yrs old were polled and said they’d recommend not becoming a family physician. In fact 44% said they’d not choose medicine if they started over again. So, older doctors are not encouraging younger doctors to pick up the mantle.
- Takes 11 years of schooling and students typically start out with $120,000 of debt.
- Physicians have decreasing power. Insurance companies and federal agencies tell them what tests and they can and cannot order, what medicines they can and cannot prescribe.
- Today’s physicians are frustrated with spending countless hours in paperwork, justifying why they should be paid rather than use their training to save lives, enhance and bring life into this world.
- Family physicians are not the esteemed position they once were.
Are you exploring becoming a family physician? Or, are you a mid-lifer exploring your options? I can coach you with effective research tools so that the career you choose fits your core strengths, interests, and values well.
I invite you to a 20-minute complimentary, confidential coaching session. No pressure to sign up. Contact me at Terri@SummitViewCareerCoaching.com to schedule a session. To see more of my services, go to Summit View Career Coaching.
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