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allied
academies
International Conference on
FAMILY MEDICINE AND FAMILY PHYSICIANS
October 16-17, 2017 | Toronto, Canada
Arch Gen Intern Med 2017 | Volume 1 Issue 3
T
he US, Canada and many other countries have a growing
physician shortage, but a far greater but less publicized
issue is the maldistribution of physicians geographically
and the maldistribution of physicians by specialty. Although
economic issues clearly play an important role, medical
schools could be far better designed to address both issues.
The standard response to the physician shortage has been
to just build new medical schools or expand existing ones,
but doctors don’t practice where they go to medical school,
as St George’s University of Grenada is clear evidence. There
are two major drivers of this issue; where medical students
are from and where they complete their GME training.
These factors account for over 80% of the decision. Specialty
choice can also be altered by teaching medical students
in the setting you want them to ultimately practice in, by
creating positive role models in desired specialties, such as
Family Medicine, by altering the curriculum to present more
wellness, population health and preventatives, by creating
primary care GME in areas where the shortage is greatest
and by providing scholarships on the front end of medical
school linked to specific practice outcomes (specialty and
location) (what the US military currently does). Many of
these concepts have been proven in developing countries
that have far greater physician manpower issues and far
less resources than we do. The author will present examples
from U C Riverside and St George’s University on how these
approaches have resulted in a dramatic increase in primary
care choice by its graduates and practice selection in
underserved areas (rural and urban).
e:
grolds@sgu.eduBuilding medical schools around social missions
G Richard Olds
St. George’s University, West Indies