Healthcare is a cornerstone to a thriving national population. Historically, America has struggled with rising healthcare costs, decreased health literacy, and medical debt. However, one of the biggest hindrances to America’s current healthcare crisis is the national shortage of healthcare workers.
According to a report published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, physician demand - in other words, the amount of patients needing care - has increased exponentially after the COVID-19 pandemic due to healthcare complications as well as socioeconomic struggles (1). However, an increasing number of healthcare workers, including physicians and nurses, have left the workforce following the pandemic, often citing inadequate compensation, workplace dissatisfaction, and burn out. This means that the physician supply is decreasing while the amount of patients is increasing! Therefore, we cannot possibly meet the demand for healthcare.
Furthermore, there are not enough residency spots to provide all new medical graduates positions, thereby leaving qualified applicants who could contribute to the healthcare force without a job. Residency spots are post-graduate positions in hospitals available to doctors who have just completed medical school. The number of residency spots is primarily determined by federal and state government funding. A lack of residency positions for new graduates means that current physicians are either reaching or are within retirement age without enough younger physicians to fill in the gap. This largely affects the primary care sector of healthcare, specifically doctors like family medicine physicians and pediatricians who provide longitudinal outpatient care. This shortage leaves many Americans without access to even basic healthcare needs, worsening conditions that could be easily managed if treated early.
This issue is affecting Pennsylvania specifically, as the primary care physician (PCP) supply is not able to meet the demand of patients, especially in underserved areas. There are only 350 PCP residency positions in Pennsylvania each year, but after passing residency, 45.2% of these residents will practice out of state (2). Additionally, 34.4% of physicians in Pennsylvania are within the retirement age range. By 2030, Pennsylvania is projected to have 1,038 doctors less than needed for its population (3). 380,454 Pennsylvania residents already live in a health professional shortage area, and this number is expected to increase by 2030 (4).
Unfortunately, this seems to be a never-ending cycle. As more physicians leave the workforce and patient demand increases, the remaining healthcare workers must work even harder and take on an even greater burden, thus increasing burnout and leading to an even greater efflux of physicians. However, this cycle can be amended if there is an increased investment in graduate medical education and physician satisfaction.
In 2023, the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act was introduced to increase the number of residency slots for graduated medical students. Although the bill has not been passed yet, it would increase the number of slots nationally by 2000 each year from 2025 to 2031. This bill, coupled with healthcare wage and worker satisfaction improvements, would not only allow influx of new physicians, but also prevent the efflux of current healthcare workers. Ultimately, efforts need to be taken to improve the lifestyle and work opportunities for our physicians so that they can provide quality care to patients and lift America out of its current healthcare crisis.
References:
GlobalData Plc. The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2021 to 2036. Washington, DC: AAMC; 2024
“Residency Programs in Pennsylvania,” n.d. https://www.residencyprogramslist.com/in-pennsylvania.
AAMC. “Pennsylvania Physician Workforce Profile.” Association of American Medical Colleges, 2021. https://www.aamc.org/media/58306/download.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas Statistics.” Bureau of Health Workforce , December 31, 2023. https://data.hrsa.gov/Default/GenerateHPSAQuarterlyReport.
Shreya Ghosh, M2
Sidney Kimmel Medical School
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