Physicians Say They’ll Have to Postpone Retirement
A poll conducted last month by MedPageToday found, not surprisingly, that 69% of 1,131 physicians expect to keep working beyond their pre-financial crisis retirement target date. Physicians have to brace for changes, says the accompanying article.
Among those potential changes is likely to be a shake-up in the physician workforce as older physicians put off retirement while young would-be doctors meet resistance in securing medical school loans…
Students already are so loaded with debt, many will opt for lucrative careers as specialists rather than turning to primary care. This will exacerbate an already thin primary care physician pipeline. If students are either unable to get loans, or are only able to negotiate high interest rates, the pipeline will further thin. …
Not mentioned in the package of information is the positive effect that PAs can have on this situation, not only on the career satisfaction of physicians, but also on the health of the growing number of Americans who are or will be underserved or unserved by health care because of this financial mess.
Even before the financial meltdown, addressing America’s acute health care problems demanded that every possible solution be considered and implemented. Recent history only has reinforced this imperative. PAs are one potential solution. It’s time for organized medicine, individual physicians, health care policymakers, politicians, advocacy groups, members of the media and the American public to discover (or rediscover) PAs. Their health and the health of their fellow Americans depend on it.
Link to poll
Link to article