As the Senate considers adding more Medicare-funded residency positions to meet future needs for physicians, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports that about 1,500 currently funded positions go unfilled, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Hospitals that don't fill the slots can no longer provide the supervision or the hands-on experiences that are required, said a workforce expert at the AAMC. Experts added that the current number of residency slots can "nowhere near" meet future needs and even if all slots could be filled and new ones were added, it would take years for physicians to get through the training pipeline.
While many medical schools have increased their class sizes to accommodate future demand, Harvard Medical School has kept enrollment the same, assuming that nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other non-MDs, rather than doctors, would fill in the gap.
Read Bloomberg's report on hospital residency slots.
Hospitals that don't fill the slots can no longer provide the supervision or the hands-on experiences that are required, said a workforce expert at the AAMC. Experts added that the current number of residency slots can "nowhere near" meet future needs and even if all slots could be filled and new ones were added, it would take years for physicians to get through the training pipeline.
While many medical schools have increased their class sizes to accommodate future demand, Harvard Medical School has kept enrollment the same, assuming that nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other non-MDs, rather than doctors, would fill in the gap.
Read Bloomberg's report on hospital residency slots.