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pclowesyesterday at 4:18 PM1 replyview on HN

The economics of medical school cost, time, and capped residency spots (some would argue this is price-fixing with artificial scarcity) make it hard to just “make more doctors”. Combine this with a highly litigious society that always demands a full doctor (when for 90% of things an NP or PA would do) plus inverted population pyramid all exacerbate the problem.

We need more doctors now and it takes 12 years to make a doctor and by then the boomer cohorts aging and medical needs will peak.

Finally, even if we could do that, the top of the funnel candidate is substantially weaker with lower test scores and higher need for remedial classes. And for the good candidates, the ROI of medical school is not as good as it once was.


Replies

bluefirebrandyesterday at 6:58 PM

Sure. All of that can be true and yet it's still something we need to do better about

Just saying "it's really hard so we won't do it" isn't exactly an option when it comes to providing healthcare. :/