Physician Shortage in the US: Can Locum Tenens Break the Trend?

Physician Shortage in the US: Can Locum Tenens Break the Trend?

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The Physician Shortage Dilemma

In recent years, the need for physicians in the US has been on the rise. However, this demand for physicians has not been met, resulting in a shortage. As the Pandemic spread throughout the US, a new wave of demand for physicians arose, adding to that that growing demand gap. So, what is the cause of this physician shortage in the US? Here are a few reasons why we might be experiencing this problem.

1. An Aging Population

Aging sucks, doesn’t it? One of the many downfalls of aging is the increase in potential health problems. Usually it’s the nagging back pain, hearing trouble, and vision loss that accompany growing older. There are also more serious health issues such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimers. All of these have one thing in common – they require some sort of medical attention. Baby boomers are reaching their older years, and seeing as they’re the largest generation, they are increasing the demand for physicians.

Physician shortage in the US

As fate may have it, physicians are also aging. More than 50 percent of practicing physicians are 50 years of age or older. Meaning they will soon be heading towards retirement. What’s the bad news? Well, with a large number of physicians approaching that retirement age, the physician shortage in the US will continue on, and potentially get worse.

2. Burnout is Relentless

As you are already well aware, working in the medical field is highly demanding. You’re often treading the line between work-life balance. More times than not, they completely blur together. You find yourself thinking about work on your often days, disrupting any semblance of peace you may have. While some workplaces try their hardest to ensure that employees get their much-needed rest days, it’s not always guaranteed. This leads to burnout.

Employees feel overworked and undervalued, causing them to lose their passion for their work. This was especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when healthcare workers were working relentlessly. With an already growing shortage of physicians, it has become incredibly important to proactively combat burnout. A solution has been the use of technology to help physicians in their daily tasks. This aims to make their workload more manageable and decrease the amount of burnout that is felt across the field.

3. Medical School and Residency Caps

You know how competitive medical school is. But why is it so competitive? Medical schools began placing enrollment caps in 1997 and have since increased them slightly, but clearly not enough. There are a large number of students competing for only a few spots at schools across the country. So even those that dream of being physicians or working in the medical field and have earned the grades in college to qualify them a spot in medical school, it’s not guaranteed that they will be able to realize this dream. Additionally, medical schools often don’t consider applicants of different educational and community service backgrounds, such as the Peace Corps. With a limit on people graduating and entering into the medical field, the physician shortage in the US will persist.

So, you’ve beat the odds, got into medical school, and graduated. But now you’re faced with another predicament. In 1997 a cap was also placed on residency programs in the US. Even though you successfully completed your medical school training, you aren’t assured placement in a residency program to get the hands-on training you’re required to have. This is just another factor that contributes to the growing physician shortage in the US. Why hasn’t that enrollment cap been lifted? It all comes down to money. A budget is what stands between an eager medical student and their dream residency program. It costs money, and a lot of it, to pay for resident training programs.

4. The Unappealing Rural Areas

There is an apparent uneven distribution for the physician shortage in the US. Rural areas are being hit the hardest and seeing the effects of the shortage first-hand. It’s predicted that this problem will only increase as the current physicians reach the age of retirement. The newly titled physicians aren’t eager to replace them, and their reasons are – well, reasonable. As a young generation of physicians enter the workforce, they are tending to flock towards urban areas with the young crowd.

Fairly recently young folks have been tracking towards urban areas, attracted to the energy and excitement they offer. This poses a problem for rural areas in need of physicians. They can’t draw in employees leaving them in a continually worsening shortage.

It’s been noticed that medical students tend to stay in the area of their school upon graduation. This creates a potential issue because most of the sought-after medical schools and residency programs are located in the northeast, leaving the rest of the country to experience the shortage.

5. The Unforgiving Pandemic

It’s not a surprise that covid only magnified the physician shortage in the US. When the pandemic took over the world, the responsibility fell on medical professionals and physicians to step up in big ways. And there is no doubt that you did just that. The number of patients in hospitals and medical facilities hit a sudden spike and put intense pressure on physicians to handle the new workload. Many workplaces began relying on telehealth to help alleviate some stress on their employees. Telehealth may be a new solution to seeing patients in locations experiencing a physician shortage and has continued to gain popularity even as the pandemic winds down.

So, What’s the Solution?

Locum tenens of course! Locum tenens have the unique opportunity to alleviate the effects of the physician shortage in the US. Due to the nature of the job, locum tenens can solve a lot of the shortage issues by traveling to where they are most needed. Most likely, this means traveling to more rural areas where the effects of the shortage are being felt the hardest. Rural areas might not always seem that appealing, but the good news is that it’s only temporary! Traveling as a locum tenen gives you the freedom to determine the length of your stay and allows you the opportunity to step in where your skills are most requested. No matter where you’re looking, you can find your next assignment at LocumJobsOnline.com!

Have you felt the effects of the physician shortage in the US? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Locum Jobs Online

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