News from September 7th through the 25th 2012

In the News

Nearly half of physicians struggle with burnout - According to American Medical News, September 3rd, 2012 the many rigors and stresses of medical practice mean that physicians experience burnout at higher rates than the general population. They work an average of 10 hours more per week and are nearly twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their work-life balance, according to an Archives of Internal Medicine study published online Aug. 20. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Luring Students Into Family Medicine - According to The New York Times, September 9th, 2012, Most students going into medicine imagine that they will have daily contact with their patients; but the reality is that only a minority will end up as primary care physicians, causing what some experts say could be a critical shortage in the United States, where there are long waits in both doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Nurse practitioners an underused resource - According to Star-Telegram, September 13th, 2012 nurses are crucial to the future of healthcare in our state. Texas ranks 47th of 50 states in supply of primary care physicians, and 185 of the state's 254 counties are designated as medically underserved. Texas does not have enough first-year residency slots to train Texas medical school graduates. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

News for August 27th through September 10th

In the News

Retail clinics fill gap left by primary care doctors - Retail clinics appear to be finding their place in the health care ecosystem. Health Affairs, a health policy journal, recently released a study on the growth of retail health clinics. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

Sharp increase expected in number of nurse practitioners - The nurse practitioner population will nearly double by 2025, according to an analysis published in the July Medical Care, the official journal of the medical care section of the American Public Health Assn. "Nurse practitioners really are becoming a growing presence, particularly in primary care," said David I. Auerbach, PhD, the author and a health economist at RAND Corp.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

Replenishing the Primary Care Physician Pipeline - A recent survey of nearly 1,000 students from three medical schools found that just 15% planned to become primary-care physicians, including 12% of first-year students. However,the study reinforces the importance of admitting student with primary-care-oriented values and the primary-care interest and reinforcing those values over the course of medical school," the authors conclude. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE