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When Thinking About the Future of Health Care, Think About Today’s High School Students

Date: March 17, 2008	Media Contact:	Chuck Moran
		Pennsylvania Medical Society
For Immediate Release		(717) 558-7820

Pennsylvania Ranks 38th in Percentage of High School Graduates Who Eventually Attend Medical School

The following is an editorial from Peter S. Lund, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and founder of its Institute for Good Medicine. The editorial is related to the State of Medicine in Pennsylvania 2007 report recently issued by the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Dr. Lund is a practicing urologist from Erie, Pa.

A little more than a decade ago, many believed there would be an oversupply of medical doctors in the U.S.. Now, many national studies suggest the opposite. Instead, we’re facing a shortage of physicians, much like we’re facing a shortage of other health care professionals such as nurses and pharmacists.

Pennsylvanians should be especially concerned about this growing dilemma. While our population is only expected to grow moderately, our state is an aging state. And, as we all know, you’re likely to need more health care services as you grow older. In addition to the aging baby boomers with increased needs, let’s not forget that we have other factors pushing health care demand, including lifestyle issues such as obesity and smoking, direct-to-consumer advertising, preventive medicine, and advancements in technology.

Physician statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) raise further concerns. According to DOH data, Pennsylvania lost more than 1,600 doctors involved in direct patient care within the last two licensing renewal cycles. That’s a net loss according to state data.

So, already, Pennsylvania is seeing a brain drain on our supply of physicians who are most directly involved in patient care.

What can we do now to turn this around so that 10 years from now there will be enough health care professionals available to handle the high demand for care?

Overall, Pennsylvania produces an average number of high school graduates per population. In fact, we’re ranked 24th in the country. And, for those who wish to study medicine, Pennsylvanians are competitive in gaining admission into medical schools. However, for some reason, we just don’t have as many high school graduates who eventually attend medical school. As a state, Pennsylvania is ranked 38th in the percentage of Pennsylvania high school graduates who eventually study medicine at a medical college.

While our State of Medicine in Pennsylvania 2007 report did not study the reasons why this is happening, one can logically guess at a number of them. First, colleges and medical schools are expensive, and it’s not unusual for students to graduate owing more than $120,000 in medical school loans. Second, becoming a doctor takes years. So, while their friends are out earning a living, those who go on to study medicine sacrifice a number of years of income. Third, there’s competition between various professions for the best and brightest. Today’s students have plenty of attractive options when it comes to their future careers.

But, even though we don’t know the reason why high school students are opting not to study medicine, we do know that health care manpower potentially may not keep up with health care demand.

We know that the best way to recruit physicians to Pennsylvania is to “home grow” them. Our best option at building a strong physician base is to encourage Pennsylvania high school graduates to study medicine at a Pennsylvania medical school and then participate in a Pennsylvania residency program.

As a starting point, Pennsylvania should reach out to our high school students – and maybe even younger – to encourage them to take a serious look at the sciences. Then we need to encourage them to specifically pursue health care.

That, in combination with increasing the number of seats in medical schools and the number of residency slots, possibly can help this country produce more doctors.

Meanwhile, as more students become interested in studying medicine, Pennsylvania should tackle the rising costs of higher education to make both college and medical school more affordable. Furthermore, to make Pennsylvania an attractive state in which to practice, our legislature should consider measures to make Pennsylvania more competitive with other states and build our reputation as the state of choice for health care professionals.

The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. The Medical Society listens to concerns of both patients and doctors to improve the delivery of health care services. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at www.pamedsoc.org or its consumer website at www.myfamilywellness.org.

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