Creative solutions will be required to expand the talent pipeline of physicians in the U.S., Heidi Chumley, MD, dean of Ross University School of Medicine in Miramar, Fla., and head of Adtalem Global Education's Academic Council, said during a recent episode of the "Becker's Healthcare Podcast."
Here is an excerpt from the podcast. Click here to download the full episode.
Editor's note: This response was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: The U.S. physician shortage is worsening nationwide. At the same time, we're also seeing a serious shortage of residency spots for medical students amid the need for more physicians. What is the solution to this?
Dr. Heidi Chumley: I think part of the solution is being willing to think about things a little bit differently than we always have. I'm talking in generalities about traditional medical education in the U.S. Traditionally, what people have done is spend four years in college, four years in medical school, three to seven years in residency education and sometimes fellowships after that. When looking at how to get more people into medicine, I think you've gotta think all along that pipeline. Are there ways to shorten that? Are there ways to bring people back in from careers where they don't have to start at the very beginning again? Do we really need all of that time in medical education? I think people have asked this question for a while. Some have suggested overlapping the last year of college and first year of medical school, or the last year of medical school and first year of residency. So I do see people and organizations really thinking about how to shorten the time or find people who have traditionally not applied — or chose another career first — and bring them into medical schools. And of course the challenge that you mentioned in your question is, well, that's all great if you have spots for them. And as long as there are constricted spots in the U.S., we're going to see this problem.