Workforce Disparities
Health Disparities
Today, we discussed many topics, heard several interesting statistics, and considered various health disparities. A few highlights are listed below.
- Pressing need for primary care physicians in Georgia
- Residency programs expansion
- Medical student tendencies to practice in underserved areas or within the state in which they attend medical school
- Diversity in the workforce
- Disparities in healthcare
- Collecting detailed information from patients to effectively address disparities and cultural competency
- And many more.
Share your general thoughts on class today or on any specific issue that stood out to you.
Looking at the statistics/charts for workforce disparities from the class handouts today, I was really struck by how far behind our nation and state are on training Hispanic healthcare professional. Hispanic is the fastest growing race/ethnicity in our country. This is particularly true in the West and Southeast. If we don't start catching up on the fast-rising curve, we'll only fall further and further behind if the Hispanic population growth continues on current trend. Obviously, what the system had done thus far isn't working, and we, collectively, need to really rise up to the challenge and find measures and take action to break down the barriers of getting young Hispanic students into the healthcare workforce.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the fast-rising Hispanic population is also relatively young with many 2nd generation immigrants. If the state government and the healthcare officials can concentrate on those young Hispanic students, we'll have a much greater chance of success to bridge the gap of disparities. On the flip side, those young students tend not to have the same level of means and family support that most of us do. Thus, it's imperative that we reach out to those students, be their role models, and help them to gain entry into the healthcare profession.
Just my 2 cents.
I continue to be surprised by the lack of primary care physicians in the state of Georgia. I have heard similar information on different occasions and I am still shocked that there are so many places in Georgia that do not have access to primary care at all. It is difficult to imagine how we can start to address different heath care disparities concerning race and poverty when there are not even doctors there to serve the population. Although there are many plans to increase the amount of physicians in Georgia I think that we at Georgia Health Sciences University need to be at the forefront of fixing this problem. As the state funded university I think it is our responsibility to make Georgia's patient population our priority.
ReplyDeleteSince Georgia is around forty percent African-American ideally, as we increase the number physicians in the state, we could also increase the diversity within the healthcare workforce. It is important that we do this so that the patients can feel more comfortable which can lead to better treatment and better overall health. The lack of healthcare providers in Georgia is evident in the unfortunate health statistics about the state. We need to do better. It does seem that the as we are becoming more aware of the problem and its consequences we are doing more to fix it. I hope that as a doctor I will be able to do my part in making Georgia a healthier state.
Newsweek Magazine: "The reason behind America's doctor gap is a matter of money. The average income in primary care is somewhere in the mid-$100,000s, which sounds like a lot but is less than half what specialists such as radiologists and dermatologists make. Given that doctors may graduate with as much as $200,000 in med-school debt, it's easy to see why primary care started hemorrhaging recruits more than a decade ago and why radiology and other well-paid, high-tech specialties took off in popularity."
ReplyDeleteThe pressing need for primary care physicians is a huge concern in Georgia and throughout this country. I believe that there are two main factors that create this shortage - one of them is described in the Newsweek quote above. There is a huge gap in financial incentives for primary care physicians as compared to specialists. As someone who personally thinks a 6-digit income of any kind would be more than enough for me, the financial aspect doesn't bother me until I consider the cost of medical school education. Debt frightens me, and I am very concerned about being able to deal with my medical education debt after gradation.
The second contributing factor I believe greatly exaggerates the shortage is interest. Medical students tend to be driven toward more specialized knowledge, and are oftentimes prepared to spend more time acquiring this knowledge by means of longer residencies and specialized fellowships. I am, for example, extremely interested in pediatric oncology.
Overall, dealing with this problem would take effort from multiple groups. Medical schools are trying to increase their class size, as we learned, but residency programs need to follow suit. The government may need to provide incentives as well, but with the cancellation of graduate loan subsidies our government seems to be working in the opposite direction. And of course, there are the problems concerning medicare payments and insurance issues. There definitely is not a simple solution to this very complex problem!
I was very disappointed by the information that was presented in class on Wednesday. I was previously under the impression that the expansion of medical schools around the nation and specifically in the state of Georgia would eventually, at least partially, solve the growing health care deficit. While the expansion of medical schools may be a step in the right direction, the solution is incomplete. By increasing the number of medical school students without a simultaneous expansion of residency programs, I think this ‘solution’ may ultimately result in further problems.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the health care deficit is real, and the need for primary care physicians must be addressed. I believe the solution will require a complete change in the healthcare system. Along with the inaccessibility, health care has become increasingly expensive, becoming further and further out of reach for many Americans. I believe there is a solution, but a solution will only come when we begin to accept that the whole face of medicine must change to accommodate to these changes and demands.
I thought the discussion about expanding the primary care physician workforce within the state of GA was very interesting. I do, however, question the effectiveness of this goal. The data we saw in class had two clear points: that increased primary care to underserved areas improves the health of those citizens and that very few medical students want to practice as primary care physicians. It begs the question of whether or not the goal of increasing the primary care workforce coincides with the realistic perspectives of students entering the medical field. In fact, most scientific fields have evolved to become more specialized as knowledge, technology, and research techniques are constantly changing. Some researchers spend 30 years on a single topic. Clearly, medicine is following a similar pattern as physicians prefer to be masters of specific areas of knowledge as well.
ReplyDeleteI bring this up because these efforts, while noteworthy and justifiable, seem to be single minded and out of touch. The majority of medical students enters medical school with service-oriented backgrounds and continues to harness those skills throughout their education. At GHSU, we have student run clinics that address the needs of the homeless and women’s health, as well as Latino and Asian patients in the Augusta area. Perhaps approaches that utilize this service mentality would be more effective? Could creating incentives for physicians to commit parts of their time in these areas be enough to make a difference? Would the creation of “satellite center” hospitals that recruit physicians for monthly clinics or use telecommunication health care delivery have an impact on the state? If such hospitals are created, who pays for them? Would the majority of GA citizens be able to access these hospitals without insurance coverage? Would placing primary care physicians in these areas bypass this same need for health insurance coverage? Is this a state or federal issue? I was left pondering these questions after class.
One of the first observations which shocked me about our incoming class was the percentage of students who were men. During intro week they referenced this and I believe around 65% of the class was male but I can't remember the number exactly. Most medicals schools I've read about are right on 50/50, so why the difference with MCG? Surely this wasn't desired, but was their such a difference in admission statistics? Although most of the statistics in class focused on race disparity, thirty years ago the medical profession was male dominated and women were in the same position as minorities faced now. Are there solutions which worked for gender diversity issue that could assist in the race diversity issue that we are facing now?
ReplyDeleteThe root of the problem lies in the primary education system upwards. With the way that schools are set up, you'd think they were designed to be boring. Personally I didn't hit my stride until college and barely passed high school; I was bored out of my mind. The amount of potential health practitioners that, for a variety of reasons, don't even graduate from high school is mind boggling. The data that indicates that the trends of medical matriculation is relatively constant is shameful, but not overly surprising. During all of your medical secondary applications how many times were you asked if a relative of yours attended that institution? Why are those kinds of questions even being asked anymore? These outdated question are unfair and only perpetuate this cycle of diversity inequality that we are faced with. A family legacy of a college education has to begin with that first college grad. The gift of a first education is exactly what needs to happen for Hispanic and African American families so that future members of the family can follow in their footsteps.
I am concerned about the lack of residency programs available for the growing number of medical students. You would think that the government would consider this balance with expanding medical schools! It really defeats the purpose because our nation will still have a shortage of medical professionals. Further, the recent discussion of budget cutting for GME programs is even more alarming. If we don't prepare for our future medical professionals, how is that helping our nation's deficit? We won't have anyone to treat our nation's citizens!
ReplyDeleteAnother topic that concerned me dealt with diversity in the medical profession. Since I took an undergraduate class called Gender & Ethnicity in the Workforce, I am aware of the lack of diversity in executive positions of businesses. In fact, studies showed that when a female becomes a part of the Board of Directors, the stock price for that company drops. Among Fortune 500 companies, there are only 12 female CEOs--2% female CEOs! And, there are only 11 Black CEOs!--also 2%! These statistics are just disappointing. So I'm not surprised that the same problems exist within the medical field. Even with studies showing that patients felt better taken care of with an African American physician, why is it that we still have only about 13% African American physicians in Georgia? People say diversity issues will get better with time; for some reason, I'm getting the feeling that it's going to take a looong time.