Primary Care Shortage

As more and more medical schools emerge, several are putting a major emphasis on primary care and for good reason.  The article discusses Quinnipiac in Connecticut and the University of California and their goal to double the amount of graduating physicians who choose to practice in primary care setting.  

JAMA published a study in December that found only 21% of third-year residents planned to enter primary care.  That is not nearly enough! There is a major shortage of primary care physicians across the United States.  Considering the Pros/Cons, it is pretty obvious why it is not the most coveted position. They work nonstop, from the office, to hospital rounds, to nursing home visits and typically are underpaid for their services.  On top of this they deal with boatloads of paperwork and kickback from insurance companies.  Sounds like fun right?



Primary care physicians of the future will more often work in multidisciplinary team settings and need to develop management and collaborative skills in addition to receiving and MD or DO. Some schools are even alluding to incentives such as scholarships and tuition reimbursement for those who do pursue primary care.

To read more at medscape: New Med Schools Aimed at Primary Care