2007 SURVEY OF PHYSICIANS 50 TO 65 YEARS OLD
10,000 physicians in multiple specialties located in all 50 states... 1,175 completed responses to the survey... 36% in primary care.
a typical respondent
How do you now find the practice of medicine?
50-55
Very satisfying 8%
Somewhat satisfying 66%
Unsatisfying 26%
56-60
Very satisfying 9%
Somewhat satisfying 70%
Unsatisfying 21%
61-65
Very satisfying 13%
Somewhat satisfying 59%
Unsatisfying 28%
Sixty-one percent of physicians cited "patient relationships" as the single greatest source of their professional satisfaction, while 21% cited "intellectual stimulation" as their single greatest source of professional satisfaction.
Please identify your single greatest source of professional frustration:
Long hours 15%
Malpractice worries 18%
Reimbursement issues 33%
Medicare/Medicaid regulations 13%
Patient attitudes today 8%
Pressure of running a business 11%
Other 15%
Consider the dedication and work ethic of physicians coming out of training today. Are physicians being trained today:
Less dedicated and hard working than physicians who entered medicine when you did? 68%
More dedicated and hard working than physicians who entered medicine when you did? 0%
Just as dedicated and hard working as physicians who entered medicine when you did? 26%
Other 6%
lazy!
We find that younger physicians today generally prefer and expect fixed hours, a good call schedule with reliable coverage, and regular vacation time. A much higher percentage of young physicians today are female than was the case in the past, and female physicians work 18% fewer hours per week than male physicians, according to the AMA. For these reasons, it may take two younger physicians to replace a more senior doctor.
If you were starting out today, would you choose medicine as your career?
Yes 56%
No 44%
About half of physicians responding plan to take steps that would either take them out of patient care settings or reduce the number of patients they see.... 18% of physicians surveyed indicated they already have closed their practices to new patients. When asked to comment on their view of retirement, 38% of physicians surveyed said they planned to retire from clinical practice as soon as they can.
so. not. me.
Would you encourage your children or other young people to choose medicine as a career today?
Yes 43%
No 57%
Interestingly, those physicians in the oldest age grouping (61-65) seem less negative about their choice of a career... With the end of the tunnel in sight, some senior physicians have come to terms with their choice of career.
The Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME), a panel of health care experts charged with reporting to Congress on the state of physician supply and demand, has endorsed a study predicting a shortage of 96,000 physicians by the year 2020. Other sources project that the United States could face a deficit of up to 200,000 physicians by the year 2020.
this is more how i see myself.
