Getting a Job After Medical School

Source: www.medscape.com

The economic principle I’m exploring is: people gain when they trade voluntarily.

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is: How can students who are planning to go to medical school ensure they will be benefiting/gaining (+ getting a job)? (Consider long schooling, expenses, and the overall benefits and drawbacks)

 The article/video/etc published in KevinMD titled “Medical Students May Find Themselves Without A Job” demonstrates this economic principle because it discusses the possibility that, while unlikely, sometimes students who get out of medical school won’t be able to get a job.

 First, the author of this publication suggests that, due to several factors, there is a chance that students getting out of medical school won’t be able to find a job. In 2012, a budget cut was put into place that “would cut $11 billion from Graduate Medical Education (GME) funding in the next ten years”. This has resulted in teaching hospitals having to lay off staff and shut down training programs. Even though the need for doctors is growing, the “number of practicing physicians is limited by funding for GME and residency programs.” This shows that as funding for residency programs is decreasing, this could lead to a potential decrease in how many people are being hired. In 2012, “528 medical graduates couldn’t enter a residency program.” In 2013, “three percent of U.S. medical school seniors did not obtain a residency.” If you want to make sure you benefit from going to medical school, it is important to be mindful of this.

 Second, it is important to note that this usually isn’t the case, but it is a possibility. It was stated that “99.4 percent of available residency slots were filled.” Most people indeed were able to find a job after graduating medical school. Currently, there is a shortage of doctors in the workforce. The U.S. is expected to face a shortage of “130,600 by 2025.” Because of the high demand for doctors and the stats that show the majority of students find a job, it is relatively safe to conclude that a medical school graduate will find a job.

 In my next blog post I will research: the expenses of medical school.