US to Face Doctor Shortage by 2025 as Graduates Avoid Medical Careers

Association of American Medical Colleges President and CEO Darrell Kirch said that a shortage of doctors is expected in the United States in 2025.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A shortage of doctors is expected in the United States in 2025 as not enough graduates seek careers in medicine to satisfy the aging population’s health needs, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) President and CEO Darrell Kirch said in a statement.

“The doctor shortage is real — it’s significant — and it’s particularly serious for the kind of medical care that our aging population is going to need,” Kirch said on Tuesday.

Kirch explained that between 46,000 and 90,000 physicians will be required to meet the US citizens’ medical needs by 2025, out of which up to 31,000 primary care physicians.

The United States authorities must act now to reverse the coming trend, according to the statement.

“Because training a doctor takes between five and ten years, we must act now, in 2015, if we are going to avoid serious physician shortages in 2025,” Kirch said.

A potential solution to the problem, Kirch argued, is to deliver medical care more efficiently and concurrently to increase US federal funding for graduate medical education and train 3,000 more doctors annually to meet healthcare needs.

The AAMC is a not-for-profit association representing 141 US and 17 Canadian medical schools.