The only way the residency shortage will resolve in a timely
fashion depends on YOU!I mean this
literally.There is a no “One” person
who can effect this change before countless fully qualified doctors are “lost”.It will take a groundswell of voices to bring
this travesty to the forefront of our Nation.We need YOUR VOICE.
The solution to the residency shortage will not be
linear.As you have read, some states
are creating legislation to “preserve” their unmatched doctors until the number
of residency slots catch up.Some states
are increasing their budgets to teaching hospitals to underwrite the addition
of residency slots and the beginning of new residency programs.Some states are allowing other health care
professionals to perform services once performed only by doctors.Some states are still “wallowing” in
bureaucratic doldrums.The solutions are
a “little bit of this and a little bit of that”.
In the meantime,
thousands of unmatched doctors are dealing individually with an unimaginable
“betrayal” and all that it encompasses (school loans, no career path, and
despondency).They “did” what we told
them to do, and we “broke the contract”.Ultimately, “we” will pay the price for this travesty.Right when the baby boomers tap into
healthcare the most, there will be a doctor shortage.Forget about “preventative care”.We will be lucky to get “reactive care” for
our healthcare challenges.
When the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 reduced the
reimbursement for residencies, yet increased the number of medical schools, the
resulting impact has been devastating.“We” knew this Act was not perfect at the outset, and changes would have
to be made.Little did we know the
“individual” repercussions that would ensue.
These unmatched doctors have worked so hard, for so many
years, and at such great expense, not to be able to complete the final step in
their training.The “right hand” of
Congress definitely did not know what the “left hand” was doing.We have got to make this RIGHT!
Only your voices and those of your contacts can effect the
“tsunami” needed to bring this solution to the forefront.Please write, tweet, share, and “demand” a
solution now!
