Why We Need Primary Care Physicians

By: Mackenzie Locke

Primary Care Physicians are Doctors that have not specialized, they choose to become a family care doctor. These are the doctors we see for checkups, physicals, and other illness. In the medical field when you have a problem that requires a specialist most of the time you need a primary to refer you to the specialist. In recent years there has been a down fall in primary care physicians, most students in medical school are now specializing into neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery or others. This is leaving a lack of primary care physicians The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predict by 2020 there will be a shortage as great as 20,000 primary care doctors. Why is this happening? What Can be done?

This caused by many things, one being that medical students think that primary care doctors took the "easy way". We all know that nothing in medical school is easy, so why are students thinking that it is an easier field? Primary care physicians have to know all basic information of all the fields the other doctors are specializing in, they need to know all the best treatments for all body systems, whether it be the heart, skin or brain. A neurosurgeon only has to study the brain, how it operates, surgeries to perform on it and how to treat and diagnosis it. I am not saying that neurosurgery is easy, just at all fields are complicated with not just skill being important but so is knowledge.

As students being to choose their path in medical school, they should think about becoming a primary care physician. These future doctors would have a pick at where they wanted to work and pick their pay. Surgery may pay good, but it is very competitive and still getting even more. Also, not all will get a job where they want.  As students pick they need to really think this through, if you choose to be a primary care physician you are not any less smart than the rest of those who choose a specialty. You’re just think of the future of the medical field and how the lack of these important doctors affect how patients will be treated.

Citations

Gordon, Mara. "Why I'm Becoming a Primary-Care Doctor." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.